Programme on rights and privileges of transgender community held in Guwahati

GUWAHATI: A one-day zonal awareness programme with stakeholders on the rights and privileges of the transgender community was held on Friday at Administrative Staff College, Guwahati. The programme was initiated by the Directorate of Social Justice and Empowerment, Assam, in an effort to create an inclusive society for all, including transgender people. The main objective of the awareness programme was to educate the wider community about transgender and gender non-conforming people, along with the issues associated with their transition and identity, awareness and perception in the field, directorates, various departments, districts, and aligned departments, which have very little knowledge about the transgender community.

In the meeting, the welcome and keynote address were offered by Kishore Thakuria, Director of Social Justice and Empowerment, Assam. In his speech, he stated that he wanted to raise public awareness and sensitization about transgender rights and develop the capacity of relevant stakeholders to enforce them. Large-scale sensitization needs to happen, starting at the school level, to see transgender not as an aberration but as an integral and productive component of social life.

The sessions comprised discussions on the mental health and emotional wellbeing of transgender people, understanding the transgender community, and discussion on challenges faced by transgender people related to Voter I/D, Epic, etc., the Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 and Assam State Policy for Transgender 2020, and the SMILE scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, New Delhi, stated a press release.

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