India's parliament has passed a controversial bill that seeks to change how transgender people are legally recognised and their right to self-identify, amid protests by opposition parties and the LGBTQ community.
The government says the changes will make welfare benefits more accessible and strengthen an existing law against exploitation and trafficking, but critics warn it could exclude many transgender, non-binary and gender-fluid people.
India is estimated to have around two million transgender people, though activists say the true number is higher and legal recognition remains uneven.
The legislation was approved by both houses this week and now needs the president's assent to become law.
In 2014, India's Supreme Court recognised transgender people as a third gender and affirmed their right to self-identify.
Despite legal protections, many transgender people in India continue to face discrimination and limited access to education, healthcare and formal employment, often relying on traditional or informal forms of work.
In 2019, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act was enacted, aimed at addressing vulnerabilities faced by the community.
Now, the new bill - essentially a proposed amendment to the 2019 law - centres on how a transgender person is defined. The government says the current definition is too vague and makes it difficult to identify those who are most marginalised.
It argues that a narrower definition will help ensure welfare benefits - such as job reservations and healthcare support - reach those who need them, intended to protect people facing extreme and oppressive discrimination and to prevent exploitation and trafficking.
However, the bill removes the right to self-identify and instead limits recognition to those defined by biological or physical traits. This includes people with intersex variations as well as traditional identities long used among transgender communities in India.
The bill also makes certification from medical boards and district authorities mandatory for those undergoing gender-affirming surgeries.
Activists argue that the new bill moves away from the self-identification principle of the 2014 court ruling and could reshape how transgender people are legally recognised. Critics further argue that the new definition could exclude many transgender people, particularly those who rely on self-identification, including some trans men and women, as well as non-binary and gender-fluid people. They also say that mandatory medical certification undermines dignity and autonomy.
It has shattered our identity, transgender rights activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi told reporters.
Activist Grace Banu stated that the community was seeking recognition without invasion and rights without humiliation, emphasizing that the bill represents a violation of rights.
A Supreme Court-appointed advisory panel has urged the government to withdraw the bill, contending that the removal of self-identification contradicts the 2014 ruling of the top court. The panel has called for wider consultation, warning that the changes could undermine efforts to protect transgender rights.
Protests have erupted across India over the past two weeks against the proposed changes, with opposition politicians describing the bill as draconian.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condemned it as a brazen attack on transgender rights, and Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) criticized the bill's hasty introduction.
