Transgender Persons Act comes into effect
The HinduThe Social Justice Ministry issued a notification on January 10, 2019, notifying the Transgender Persons Act, 2019, which was passed by Parliament on November 26 and given Presidential assent on December 5, 2019. It also recognises the right to self-perceived gender identity and provides for certification from a District Magistrate; in case a transgender person has had a gender-change surgery, the law says they can obtain a certificate from the medical facility where they had the operation, and apply for a change in their certificate. Lovely Kumari, a transwoman, who had participated in the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer’s campaign to boost turnout among transgender voters in last year’s the Lok Sabha elections, said that trans people found it difficult to get papers. However, Dr. Manabi Bandopadhaya, who became India’s first transgender college principal in 2015, said certification was needed to prevent misuse of welfare measures.