The Constitution of India grants socio-economic and political justice to all the citizens of India irrespective of their sex, place of birth, religion, race or caste. National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of India, which declared transgender people to be a ‘third gender’, affirmed that the fundamental rights granted under the Constitution of India will be equally applicable to transgender people, and gave them the right to self-identification of their gender as male, female or third-gender. However, for most transgenders, getting the ability to vote is a difficult climb over the mountain of bureaucracy that awaits them. Voting, it seems, is another fight against societal stigma.

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Transgenders and Voting:

• The number of third genders, who have enrolled themselves in the electoral list, has increased by nearly 127 per cent, from 918 in 2014 to 2,086 in 2019, according to the latest Election Commission (EC) data.
• The increased number shows a willingness of the community members to identify themselves as transgenders.
• Karnataka has a transgender population of more than 70,000, but only about 4,700 people from this community have enrolled for voting.
• Discrimination has relatively reduced in urban areas due to activism, however in the rural areas, it’s still very evident.
• The presence of queer issues, particularly transgender issues, in several party manifestos is a mark of progress from the 2014 Lok Sabha elections

Challenges faced by Transgender voters in India:

• The insensitivity with which officials handle these cases only makes matters worse. It can double or triple the pain of transgender people if not heighten their anxiety, social humiliation and dysphoria. Thus many prefer not to undergo this ordeal.
• There is fear, particularly of being judged and mocked. The community is stigmatised when one stands in a polling queue with others.
• Before 2014, transgenders used to register as male or female until the Supreme Court judgment identified them as a different gender. Those who made voter cards before 2014 have not changed their id.
• Some people have voter ID cards, but those cards pertain to the period before they became transgenders.
• Only a few thousand have voter IDs because most of them don’t have any documents to say they are residents of their localities.
• Many of them, surviving through begging and sex work, barely have any documents in their name. Those who do have a few documents, such as their birth and school-leaving certificates, struggle to get them updated with their Trans identity.
• Medical certificates of a gender transition is sought despite the 2014 NALSA verdict that states that self-identifying as transgender is not necessarily tied to a case of medical transition
• Transgenders are not given houses on rent by landlords because of their identity. They normally stay with their seniors, and documents are in their seniors’ names.
• The gap is a result of not just social stigma but painful bureaucratic processes that renders the community helpless and exasperated.

Measures needed:

• The EC and State government have to be more proactive if they want voter turnouts to increase.
• To “uphold the rights of all transgender persons and remove the lacunae present in the current Transgender Persons Bill, 2018.
• There has to be a mechanism that instils confidence in the community to vote.
• Awareness programme where our officials go out and urge transgenders to vote.
• Transgender activists, NGOs and CSO can play an imperative role in registration of the transgender voters.
• Social media can be used to effectively reach out to the Trans communities and increase their participation and grant their constitutional rights.
• Recently, Shreegauri Sawant was appointed as one of the goodwill ambassadors of the Election Commission in Maharashtra. Such innovative measures will help build confidence among other transgenders as well as sensitize people.

Conclusion:

Despite the small steps taken in the political landscape, stigma and patriarchy remain the biggest impediment. Therefore, the only way for these transgender women to overcome the challenges is by sticking their neck out in mainstream politics by breaking the glass-ceiling.