India's parliament has passed a controversial bill that seeks to change how transgender people are legally recognised and their right to self-identify, amid protests by opposition parties and the LGBTQ community.
The government says the changes will make welfare benefits more accessible and strengthen an existing law against exploitation and trafficking, but critics warn it could exclude many transgender, non-binary and gender-fluid people.
India is estimated to have around two million transgender people, though activists say the true number is higher and legal recognition remains uneven.
The legislation was approved by both houses this week and now needs the president's assent to become law.
In 2014, India's Supreme Court recognised transgender people as a third gender and affirmed their right to self-identify.
Despite legal protections, many transgender people in India continue to face discrimination and limited access to education, healthcare and formal employment, often relying on traditional or informal forms of work.
In 2019, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act was enacted, aimed at addressing vulnerabilities faced by the community.
Now, the new bill - essentially a proposed amendment to the 2019 law - centres on how a transgender person is defined.
The government says the current definition is too vague and makes it difficult to identify those who are most marginalised.
It argues that a narrower definition will help ensure welfare benefits - such as job reservations and healthcare support - reach those who need them.
However, the bill removes the right to self-identify and instead limits recognition to those defined by biological or physical traits. This includes people with intersex variations as well as traditional identities long used among transgender communities in India.
The bill mandates certification from medical boards and district authorities for those undergoing gender-affirming surgeries.
Activists say the new bill moves away from the self-identification principle of the 2014 court ruling and could reshape how transgender people are legally recognised.
Critics further argue that the new definition could exclude many transgender people, particularly those who rely on self-identification, including some trans men and women as well as non-binary and gender-fluid people.
They also assert that mandatory medical certification undermines dignity and autonomy. It has shattered our identity, transgender rights activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi told reporters.
Activist Grace Banu stated that the community was seeking recognition without invasion and rights without humiliation, characterising the bill as not protection, but violation.
The removal of self-determination is seen as an attack on individual privacy and dignity by lawyer N Kavitha Rameshwar.
A Supreme Court-appointed advisory panel has advised withdrawing the bill, stating that it contradicts the 2014 ruling and calls for broader consultation regarding the changes.
Protests by members of the LGBTQ community have erupted across India in response to the proposed changes over the past two weeks, with opposition politicians also criticising the bill as draconian.
Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi termed it a brazen attack on transgender rights, while Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party questioned the bill's introduction in a hasty manner.
