Thane: Transgenders from Ulhasnagar to get identity and voice

A transgender person begs on the street. Representation pic

In an attempt to bring transgender into mainstream, the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation has planned a special drive to register people from the community on the electoral list. Activists working for their betterment believe this will give the community a voice during elections. The Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) has a population of around 6.5 lakh, and close to 1,000 are from the transgender community. However, most of them are not on the electoral list.

The civic body will conduct the drive from 11 am to 4 pm on November 26 and 27 at Rotary Midtown, Gol Maidan, Ulhasnagar-1. The transgender people can add their names, photos, or make corrections in the electoral list. The UMC will issue voter ID cards based on any residential proof they have, but in case there is none, it will accept the Transgender Certificate and ID card issued by the district collector. For the transgender people, who hardly get any identification document, a voter ID card will provide them with the proof required to gain other important documents.

Dr Yoga Nambiar, transgender rights activist

"The transgender community is a migrant population; hence they face problems acquiring any identity card due to the absence of a permanent address. Therefore, getting a voter ID card is necessary," said Dr Yoga Nambiar, transgender rights activist. "We expect more such drives in the future to bring the transgender community into mainstream," he added. According to Dr Nambiar, the Thane district has population of around 4,500 from the transgender community, and 1,000-1500 of them reside in Ulhasnagar.

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Rekha Thakur, former corporator who works for the community, said, "An identification document is important for the transgender people and this special drive will help them get one. I urge every municipal corporation in the state to hold initiatives that will give recognition to the transgender people in the society."

The members of the community face hurdles in getting ID cards after they change their name. "Many of us are assigned either male or female names at birth. However, when we realise and identity ourselves as transgender, we adopt a new name, which makes it difficult for us to get new ID cards. Also, the new name does not match with that of our parents, creating even more trouble," said a transgender person, requesting anonymity.

UMC Additional Commissioner Jamir Lengrekar said, "The special drive is to enable the members of the transgender community to have an important identification document, which will also give them a voice as a citizen. The corporation and the NGOs are working together to give the transgender people their basic needs and rights."