Ministry takes up transgender pilot’s case
For Prelims
- Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019:
- The Bill defines a transgender person as one whose gender does not match the gender assigned at birth.
- A transgender person needs to make an application to the District Magistrate for a certificate of identity, indicating the gender as ‘transgender’.
- It calls for establishing a National Council for Transgender persons (NCT).
For Mains
The Current Issue
- The Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry has declared, the decision of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to deny a commercial pilot license to a transgender candidate is “discriminatory” and ‘violates’ the law on the rights of transgender people.
- Criticism for Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019
- The act does not differentiate between transgender, transsexuals and intersex persons and proposes a ‘one size fits all formula’
- There is a lack of enforceability which dilutes the provisions of the act.
- The provision for certification can be seen as infringing on a person’s right of self-determination.
- The healthcare provisions are seen as a step forward but not enough as there is still lack of awareness in even the medical communities.
Source : The Hindu
