The J&K Government has ordered registration of transgenders as separate category for issuance of birth, death and other certificates by local bodies.
“Sanction is hereby accorded to inclusion of transgenders asa separate category for birth, death and any other certificates, to be issuedby Municipal Corporation/ Councils/Committees, with immediate effect, incompliance to High Court orders passed on April 9 this year…,” reads an orderissued by Principal Secretary Housing and Urban Development Department, DheerajGupta.
The Court had issued the orders on a Public InterestLitigation (PIL) filed by social activist Dr Aijaz Bund who has been fightingfor rights of the transgenders. “Thisorder is a good beginning. We want implementation of NALSA judgment-2015 whichgives reservation to transgender. Our demand is that constitution of Jammu andKashmir should recognize transgender as third gender and give them their duerights,” said Bund.
“Our fight will continue till all recommendations of theNALSA judgment are implemented in J&K,” he added.
On 15 April 2014 the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgementby declaring transgenders as “third gender”, in a case National Legal ServicesAuthority v/s Union of India and others.
The judgment affirmed that fundamental rights granted underConstitution of India will be equally applicable to transgenders, and gave themthe right to self-identification of their gender as male, female orthird-gender.
The Apex Court had also directed the Centre and the StateGovernments to take steps to treat transgender people as socially andeducationally backward classes of citizens and extend all kinds of reservationin cases of admission in educational institutions and for public appointments,to them.