{{In a landmark ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India recognized transgender people as belonging to a third gender and directed the central and state governments to give full legal recognition to them, the Press Trust of India reported.}}<\/p>\n
The top court was responding to a public interest lawsuit filed by the National Legal Services Authority, which provides free legal services to the poor and disadvantaged. <\/p>\n
The group had argued that treating transgender people as legal nonentities, unable to apply for official identification documents, meant that they were deprived of basic human rights.<\/p>\n
The court agreed with the organization and added that governments must treat the transgender community as a minority group that should be provided with adequate access to health care and employment so that transgender people can become part of mainstream society.<\/p>\n
For decades, the transgender community in India has been widely ostracized and excluded from traditional social life, so activists who work with the community were overjoyed with the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am so happy,\u201d said Anjali Gopalan, founder and executive director of the Naz Foundation, a nonprofit group that has been working in the fields of H.I.V.\/AIDS awareness and transgender rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a progressive judgment, and it has a far-reaching consensus,\u201d Ms. Gopalan added.<\/p>\n
Colin Gonsalves, a lawyer who has been fighting cases for the transgender community, called the judgment \u201cextraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt comes after decades of pursuit,\u201d Mr. Gonsalves said. \u201cIt is the first step toward recognizing the transgender community as a third sex.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Gonsalves added that this judgment was like a \u201cbreath of fresh air\u201d after the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in December that criminalized gay sex under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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