Why In News?

• The Maharashtra government stated that it would  be difficult to provide “additional reservations” to transgender persons in education and public employment.

Background:

=> Trans persons in India have been fighting for the right to horizontal reservation for a long time.

=> The demand for reservation has been raised by many prominent Dalit, Bahujan, Adivasi activists and trans persons as well, such as Grace Banu, Living Smile Vidya and Disha Pinky Shaikh.

What are horizontal reservations?

=> Horizontal reservation is an intersectional approach that is provided for within each vertical reservation category.

• For example, a Dalit woman can access vertical reservation under the SC category, whereas through horizontal reservation she will be able to access reservations for women as well — both of which equally influence the person’s social location.

Types of reservations:

=> In India, historically oppressed and disadvantaged communities have a right to affirmative action policies.

=> Reservation in education and employment can be divided into two broad categories, namely, vertical and horizontal.

Demand to secure horizontal reservation for trans people:

=> It has to do with the need for mandating provisions for a community that has been marginalised for long in society and recognising the different aspects making up their social identity

=> A study conducted by the National Human Rights Commission revealed that in 2017, only 6 percent of transgender people were formally employed.

=> Informal work that a significant portion of the community currently engages in, like begging and sex work, have been criminalised in India under various Acts and laws.

=> But trans persons are often employed in such work for reasons related to both ritual and survival.

=> In this regard, the NALSA verdict has largely been interpreted as directing reservations for transgender people in the OBC category.

=> This perhaps stems from the bench identifying the community as “a socially and educationally backward class”.

=> So far, no implementation has happened even to that end.

=> Transgender persons have filed several petitions of late in the Delhi HC, Madras HC, Rajasthan HC, etc., asking for horizontal reservation in education and jobs.

Government's stand:

=> Since the NALSA judgement, there has been no direction from the Central government on delivering on the right to reservation for trans persons.

=> Even as the clamour for horizontal reservation for transgender people in government jobs and education grows across India, the Union government said that there was no separate policy under consideration to provide jobs to transgender people in government organisations.