THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, Sept 4: The Palamu administration is exploring all avenues to mitigate the problems of the third sex.
In a first of its kind, there was organised a multi-disciplinary meeting for the third sex welfare committee which was chaired by DC Shashi Ranjan and attended by DDC Shabbir Ahmad, civil surgeon Dr Anil Kumar, district education officer Durganand Jha, district social welfare officer Neeta Chouhan and SDPO Sadar Mani Bhushan Prasad represented the police.
Two transgenders present at meeting
The highlight of this third sex welfare committee meeting was the conspicuous presence of the two transgenders, Ayesha Singh and Sapna. These two were seated in the front row and were given ample time to speak of themselves.
The grace and honour that was so bestowed on the two transgenders was said to be most overwhelming as never in the past the transgenders had so graciously and comfortably heard by the administration.
DC Shashi Ranjan told The Jharkhand Story, “This clan has its issues. First, it keeps moving and moving like any nomadic tribe. If you don’t stay put in one place, how come your proof of address will be there.”
Transgenders to be settled on govt land
“So, what we are going to do is to settle them at government land. They can’t be settled in ones or twos or threes but in a collective mode just to make them feel better and secure,” reminded the DC.
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Asked from where the land will come and again will their settlement will be in urban areas or rural areas Shashi Ranjan said “That’s true. Land has to be located and identified. If they prefer urban location then the size of land for each of the household will be lesser and thinner than the rural location obviously for the understandable reasons like acute crunch of land in the urban location.”
Reminded that a third sex faces a crisis of identity proof the DC said, “We have asked the civil surgeon to help prepare a certificate of identity for transgender.”
The civil surgeon said, “It’s a simple process. A transgender has to give a self-declaration on a 10-rupee non-gazetted stamp paper which is an affidavit signed by the competent Notary.”
“There is no medical test or examination. Nothing of the sort. A transgender is to declare only. It is well within the transgender’s protection of rights,” added the civil surgeon.
“Apart from identity proof and address proof, the most delicate issue is their acceptability as humans like us by society,” added the DC.
“The society looks at them with squint eyes. They are looked down upon. They are not shown respect. This attitude of the society must go,” reminded the DC.
In this final publication of the electoral rolls for the assembly election here in Palamu the number of transgender voters is 2.
Identity, address of them secured then begins the task of their education, skill and employment.
No petrol pump here in Palamu which alone in Daltonganj and its periphery is more than a dozen hire any transgender to fill petrol/diesel in the vehicles.
Similarly, despite Medha dairy here, there is no milk booth run by the third sex.
This correspondent spoke to many such employers who had a common fear about hiring transgenders saying that “They throw tantrums. They are moody. Their presence at workplaces will invite ruffians. Hence we don’t hire them.”
The third sex has their deity which they worship. The Palamu administration is toying with the idea of having a Garima Grih on the pattern of the Community Hall for the use of transgenders.
