[WSMDiscuss] India in movement…. : Fwd: Press Release : OPEN APPEAL TO THE PARLIAMENT OF INDIA TO STOP ENACTMENT OF TRANSGENDER BILL, 2016 | Solidarity with the Nation-wide Resistance of Transgender, Intersex, Genderqueer People to Assert Their Constitutional and Human Rights

JS CACIM jai.sen at cacim.net
Sun Dec 17 17:03:21 CET 2017 

Sunday, December 17, 2017

India in movement….

Open Appeal To The Parliament Of India To Stop Enactment Of Transgender Bill, 2016

Solidarity with the Nation-wide Resistance of Transgender, Intersex, Genderqueer People to Assert Their Constitutional and Human Rights

National Alliance of People’s Movements

            JS

fwd

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: napm india <napmindia at gmail.com>
> Subject: Press Release : OPEN APPEAL TO THE PARLIAMENT OF INDIA TO STOP ENACTMENT OF TRANSGENDER BILL, 2016 | Solidarity with the Nation-wide Resistance of Transgender, Intersex, Genderqueer People to Assert Their Constitutional and Human Rights
> Date: December 16, 2017 at 12:33:06 PM GMT+5:30
> To: NAPM Delhi <napmdelhi at gmail.com>
> Reply-To: NAPM-India+owners at googlegroups.com

NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE'S MOVEMENTS
National Office: 6/6, Jangpura B, New Delhi – 110 014
Phone:011 24374535 | 9971058735
E-mail:napmindia at gmail.com <mailto:napmindia at gmail.om> | Web:www.napm-india.org <http://www.napm-india.org/>
 
 
OPEN APPEAL TO THE PARLIAMENT OF INDIA 
TO STOP ENACTMENT OF TRANSGENDER BILL, 2016 
 
Solidarity with the Nation-wide Resistance of Transgender, Intersex, Genderqueer People to Assert Their Constitutional and Human Rights
 

16th Dec, 2017: National Alliance of People’s Movements is deeply concerned that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016, to which there is massive resistance across the country from the transgender, intersex, genderqueer people, is being tabled in the Winter Session of the Parliament. The Bill in its current form is an unfortunately regressive step back from the landmark judgemnt of the Supreme Court in NALSA vs UoI (April, 2014), the more acceptable Private Member Bill on Transgender Rights passed by Rajya Sabha in 2014 and the progressive Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) Recommendations issued in July, 2017.
The Bill has a potential to seriously undermine the rights and interests of the already marginalized and historically wronged communities it claims to ‘protect’ and benefit’. It is for these reasons that NAPM appeals to the Parliament of India to Stop passage of the Transgender Bill in its current form and instead hold widespread consultations with the communities at stake in the light of NALSA judgement, Private Member Bill and PSC recommendations.  

It is indeed appalling that disregarding the significant discourse that has emerged around trans rights as mentioned above, the Bill again resorts to a series of draconian provisions such as – ambiguous and humiliating definition of transgender; arbitrary district screening committee for identification and authentication of trans persons; criminalization of  begging and traditional livelihoods, especially in the light of no provisions for jobs and reservations, non-recognition of the structures of family and care of hijra and trans people, stipulation of lesser penalties in cases of violence and discrimination against transpersons, replacing ‘Transgender Commission’ with a weaker ‘Council’, no affirmative measures to enable education and employment of trans persons etc. 

Although, owing to pressure from trans communities across the country, we have been witnessing sporadic news reports that the Govt. of India has been ‘considering’ incorporation of some of the progressive recommendations of the PSC, such as expanding the definition of ‘transgender’ and dropping the ‘district screening committee’, there is no guarantee on many other substantive and long-standing demands of the community such as stringent penal provisions against discrimination, reservations in education and employment, healthcare, National and State Transgender Commissions etc. in any case no clear official clarity on any of the changes that would be made.    

We salute the valiant transgender, intersex, genderqueer people who have been organizing massive resistance across the country, particularly in West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Manipur, Maharashtra, Delhi etc. against the unacceptable provisions of the Bill and express our full solidarity with their Call for a National Protest Action on 17th December at Parliament Street, New Delhi.  

It is rather ironic that a Bill of this nature, a first of its kind in the 70 years of ‘independent India’, with a claim to undo the historical injustice and recognize citizenship rights of the transgender community is actually trampling upon the rights of the community and denying basic constitutional, civil and citizenship rights. A Bill in the name of the transgender community should ideally be introduced and passed with the approval of the community and certainly not in such a situation where there is enormous critique and wide spread protests against the Bill.

We appeal to the Parliament of India, as a key pillar of our democratic edifice, and to each and every parliamentarian, across party lines, to stop passage of the Bill in its present form and listen to the demands of the community with sensitivity and openness. We hope the Parliament will stop this version, consult the community and then come up with a Bill, incorporating the progressive aspects upheld by the NALSA judgement, Private Member Bill and PSC recommendations, so that the community welcomes with the Bill open arms and not with protests, petitions and placards.  



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 <>Medha Patkar,  <>Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) and National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)
Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey and Shankar Singh, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), National Campaign for People’s Right to Information and NAPM
Prafulla Samantara, Lok Shakti Abhiyan, and NAPM, Odisha 
P.Chennaiah, Andhra Pradesh VyavasayaVruthidarula Union-APVVU and National Centre For Labour and NAPM (Andhra Pradesh)
Binayak Sen and Kavita Srivastava, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Gabriele Dietrich, Penn UrimayIyakkam, Madurai and NAPM (Tamilnadu)
Geetha Ramakrishnan, Unorganised Sector Workers Federation, NAPM, (Tamilnadu) 
Sandeep Pandey, Socialist Party and NAPM, Uttar Pradesh
Sister Celia, Domestic Workers Union, and NAPM, Karnataka 
Maj Gen (Retd)S.G.Vombatkere, Mysuru, NAPM, Karnataka
Arundhati Dhuru, Manesh Gupta, NAPM, Uttar Pradesh 
Vilayodi Venugopal, CR Neelakandan and Prof.Kusumam NAPM, Kerala
Anand Mazgaonkar andKrishnakant, ParyavaranSuraksh Samiti, NAPM Gujarat 
Ramakrishnam Raju, United Forum for RTI and NAPM (Andhra Pradesh)
Vimal Bhai, MatuJansangathan, NAPM, Uttarakhand 
Dayamani Barla, Aadivasi-MoolnivasiAstivtva Raksha Samiti, NAPM Jharkhand
Dr.Sunilam and Adv. Aradhna Bhargava,KisanSangharsh Samiti, and NAPM, Madhya Pradesh
Samar Bagchi and Amitava Mitra, NAPM West Bengal
Suniti SR, Suhas Kolhekar, and Prasad Bagwe, NAPM Maharashtra 
Kailash Meena, NAPM Rajasthan 
Gautam Bandopadhyay, NAPM, Chhattisgarh
Anjali Bharadwaj, National Campaign for People’s Right to Information and NAPM
KaladasDahariya, RELAA, Chhatisgarh
Meera Sanghamitra, NAPM Telangana-Andhra Pradesh
Bhupender Singh Rawat, Jan SangharshVahini, NAPM, Delhi
Faisal Khan, KhudaiKhidmatgar, NAPM Haryana
J S Walia, NAPM Haryana 
Lingraj Azad, Samajwadi Jan Parishad, Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, and NAPM, Odisha
Guruwant Singh, NAPM Punjab
Richa Singh, Sangatin Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan, NAPM Uttar Pradesh
Arul Doss, NAPM (Tamilnadu)
Jabar Singh, NAPM, Uttarakhand 
Sister Dorothy, NAPM Bihar
Kamayani Swami and Ashish Ranjan, Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan, and NAPM Bihar 
Mahendra Yadav,KosiNavnirmanManch, NAPM Bihar 
Bilal Khan, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, Mumbai and NAPM
Rajendra Ravi, Nanhu Prasad, Madhuresh Kumar, Sunita Rani, Amit Kumar, Himshi Singh, Uma, NAPM, Delhi
Aaquib Zabed Mazumder, Rajesh Serupally, NAPM, Telangana – Andhra Pradesh 



-- 
===============================================
National Alliance of People’s Movements
National Office : 6/6, Jangpura B, Mathura Road, New Delhi 110014
Phone : 011 24374535 Mobile : 09818905316
Web : www.napm-india.org <http://www.napm-india.org/> | napmindia at gmail.com <mailto:napmindia at gmail.com>
Facebook : www.facebook.com/NAPMindia <http://www.facebook.com/NAPMindia>
Twitter : @napmindia



______________________________

Jai Sen

jai.sen at cacim.net <mailto:jai.sen at cacim.net>
www.cacim.net <http://www.cacim.net/> / http://www.openword.net.in

Now based in New Delhi, India (+91-98189 11325) and in Ottawa, Canada, on unceded Anishinaabe territory (+1-613-282 2900) 

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