Towards Gender Justice: The Quest for Transgender Equality in India

“A gender-equal society would be one where the word ‘gender’ does not exist: where everyone can be themselves.” - Gloria Steinem The morality of different societies for a long time recognized only two gen-ders, male and female. Hence, those who transgressed from this gender norm were given an umbrella term, transgenders. In India, this binary perception persists, exacerbating the challenges faced by the transgender community. India's transgender population continues to struggle with achieving gender justice, which results in their ongoing marginalization and exclusion. Transgender individuals in India because of the cultural norms like stigma towards the community, tradition gender roles, religious beliefs and taboos face multifaceted challenges across social, economic, and healthcare domains. Discrimination and marginalization results in economic vulnerability, compelling many to resort to begging or engaging in sex work to sustain themselves. This intersection of marginalization and economic instability leads to a cyclical pattern of social exclusion and exploitation, thereby increasing the adversities faced by the transgender community. Though the Constitution of India has prohibited discrimination of all sort, it was not until 1994, that the transgender got the basic human right to vote and not until 2014, that the transgenders were legally recognized as third gender recognized through the NALSA judgement. This paper highlighting the historical background and growth of the transgender people and delves into the issue of transgender in relation to gender justice within the framework of the Constitution of India. It critically examines whether the legal recognition and laws have changed the plight of the community or is there still a long way to achieve justice for the transgender?