Contacts: dialogues.diversity@gmail.com, orinam.net@gmail.com

TRANSGENDER-AFFIRMING GUIDELINES FOR INDIAN WORKPLACES

Two community collectives, Orinam in Chennai and Diversity Dialogues in Bangalore, have launched a guide for employers  who seek to make workplaces inclusive and welcoming of transgender employees, and support employees who are choosing to come out as transgender.

Being transgender, intersex, non-binary or genderqueer (henceforth transgender+) is a challenge to finding and retaining education and employment in India. The few individuals who manage to acquire education and access to employment opportunities constantly face a choice between affirming their true (gender) identities and staying in long-term careers.

Many workplaces in India are already likely to have transgender+ individuals working with them. These individuals, who may have been recruited through mainstream recruitment channels and are actively contributing to the business, may not openly identify as transgender and are perhaps living and expressing in the gender assigned at birth, and are forced to conform/pass as cis-gender. Some others may be transgender and living in their preferred gender(s), without disclosing their gender assigned at birth.

Very few employers in India are known to be inclusive of transgender+ individuals and/or allow/support their gender affirmation within the company.

Orinam believes that “Organizations committed to diversity and inclusion need to create a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for transgender+ employees, both existing employees and new recruits, to be recognized in their gender, and create channels for requesting support if and when required.”

“Affirming the gender of transgender employees, with respect to inclusive policies and benefits, is an essential part of creating an inclusive environment. The resource guide from Orinam and Diversity Dialogues is an attempt to encourage HR professionals or business leaders to implement the guide and build inclusive practices towards the transgender+ community.” said Diversity Dialogues.

“As transgender+ persons we go through unnecessary scrutiny at interviews or otherwise. People sometimes think it is their right to ask deeply personal information about our genitalia, about our sex lives, about our transition surgeries. While all they should be caring about are our names and pronouns, treating us like regular individuals. The guide provides essentials about culture and acceptable behavior required for organizations to be transgender+ affirmative”, says Aditya Batavia, who works at an Indian retail conglomerate, and identifies as a man.

“As a transgender person and IT professional, I have had to refrain from potential job opportunities, faced micro-aggression, and been denied client-facing moments because of my identity/expression. The anxieties and fear of discrimination, difficulties in finding another job, and risk of losing livelihood prevent many of us transgender+ people from revealing our true gender and force us to live dual lives. Post- the NALSA and 377 verdicts it’s the right time for business community to pitch in and address discrimination faced by transgender+ community in their organizations as they now have moral and legal obligations to ensure a safe, inclusive and healthy workplace“, says Kanaga, a transwoman working as Domain consultant for a large Indian IT services provider

“Understanding issues related to transgender identity at work place (just as other issues related to diversity and inclusion) is a layered matter which will have to be revisited and updated from time to time and experience to experience. An open and embracing attitude and kindness is the key. I feel this document clearly shows the sincerity and hard work put into recognizing core issues related to transgender persons’  inclusion at workplaces and is very beautifully put together” says Shyam Balasubramanian, an assigned female at birth transgende, transmasculine person, who works as a DFT engineer in the semiconductor/chip design industry.

Most of the recommendations in this guide are relevant to all institutions: corporates, not-for-profit NGOs, government departments, public sector undertakings, or any other.  The guidance around acknowledging self-identification of transgender persons flows from the directives of the Supreme Court of India’s landmark 2014 ruling on transgender rights in National Legal Services Authority vs. Union of India and Ors.

The guide is dedicated to  the memory of Anannya Krishnan, a transgender woman in Chennai who was part of the Orinam collective. Despite a promising career as a pharmacologist in the  drug safety vertical of a Chennai business, Anannya faced numerous struggles to find a place to live, and have her family acknowledge her gender identity. These struggles proved too much to handle, and she took her life on Dec 30, 2017.

Diversity and inclusion is an intent and can be implemented by every organization, irrespective of nature of work, size, scale or anything else. The recommendations in this guide urge organizations to embark on this journey.

The guide may be downloaded here.

Also view: Employers’ Guide to Making Indian Workplaces LGBTIQ+ inclusive and Videos on LGBT+ inclusion at Indian workplaces

Follow Diversity Dialogues on Facebook , YouTube and instagram @dialoguesdiversity

Follow Orinam on Facebook and Twitter @chennaipride, and visit our website www.orinam.net

The symposium aims to bring together organizations representing employers, employees and civil society to address the specific challenges of being lesbian, gay, bi, and transgender in the Indian workplace, and to share their experiences. The event is co-organized by two non-profits, Workplace Pride, Amsterdam, and Solidarity Foundation, Bengaluru.  Community partners include Community Business and Orinam. The  symposium is hosted by the RELX Group.

If you’re a community member, ally, and/or interested in knowing how workplaces can recruit and retain talent from LGBTIQA+ communities, this meeting and networking opportunity is for you. Participation is free, but registration is required. Register at http://india2017.archives-workplacepride.org/registration/

Date: Friday, May 19th 2017
Registration:  Free: click HERE
Time:10 am – 3 pm

Location: Leela Palace Chennai, Adyar Sea Face, M.R.C Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600028, India

The event will be preceded by a reception on Thursday 5 pm – 7  pm at the same venue.

For more information, email solidarityfoundation2013@gmail.com or orinam.net@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION

Pride marches across the world have become important events for the show of strength and solidarity of the queer community. Pride celebrations, especially in India, are more than just a colorful parade. Prides are platforms for protests, for voicing out against oppression, and calling for an equal society. In recent years, Pride marches have embraced the idea of intersectionality – an idea that talks about equality beyond the lines of gender and sexuality. Queer individuals who walk the Pride march have identities beyond their queer identities. When we call for freedom and equality on the lines of gender/sexuality, we ought to recognize the call for equality on the lines of caste, class, region, religion and other divides or inequalities that exist today in the country/society.

Apart from incorporating these intersectionality groups, Namma Pride 2016 (Bangalore Pride 2016), went a step ahead and became India’s first pride to be made accessible to persons with disability.

This document talks about the need for accessibility, key steps taken to build accessibility and the Namma Pride 2016 journey of building accessibility.

WHY SHOULD YOU MAKE PRIDE ACCESSIBLE?

While queer prides should also call out inequities in the society that exist for people with disability from a political and equal rights stand point, there are four more arguments that make the case stronger:

1. Intersections: queer and disabled: Yet another aspect about the identity of a person, queer or otherwise, is ability/disability. There are many people with disability who may be queer (including asexual). And there are many persons who identify as LGBTQ+, who may be living with a visible/invisible disability. The intersections are largely unspoken about because sexuality of a person with disability itself is an unspoken topic. The society looks at persons with disability as largely asexual beings (a feeling  that is sometimes internalized within the persons themselves). So, for a person with disability (who fights with enough battles already), to have explored their sexual identity, and be able to openly come out and say that they do not fall in the mainstream heterosexual cis-gender category is pretty uncommon. This does not mean that persons who are both queer and disabled do not exist.
2. Shades of similarity between both communities: Persons who have worked closely with both queer and disability communities know that there are striking similarities between the two. The situations may be different, but the pain, evolution and introspection that an individual from both communities goes through is similar. The problems of inequity that plague both the communities today are also similar. The coming together of both communities adds more strength to the movement of inclusion.
3.  Accessibility is good for everyone: Like any other case, interventions made to include a particular section of society are largely good for everyone else too. Making Pride accessible for persons with disability has ensured that senior citizens, children, and people who just need a place to sit during the march can also participate. It has helped in reaching out to a larger audience, and enable participation of more individuals, as parents, friends, and colleagues can participate despite their age, and physical abilities they may have. Further, despite the greater visibility of young people in public LGBTQ+ community events, many members of the community are aging as well, and this opens doors to them.

Caveat: The core message of Queer Pride is the need for recognition and inclusion of people of diverse genders and sexualities. Making Pride disability-accessible does not detract from this message.  Rather, by making Pride accessible, you affirm your commitment to include other groups, and your recognition of the intersectional nature of oppressions and identities.

HOW DO YOU MAKE PRIDE ACCESSIBLE?

Key decisions to be made

1. Pride team buy in: If you are taking the lead in proposing this idea, make sure that the Pride team signs off on the concept, budget and other requirements. Accessibility is a key component of every activity in Pride and therefore, team agreement is imperative. If majority of the team is bought in, go ahead. Address any questions, comments or thoughts on this in the first meeting itself, before you take it forward.
2. Have a separate team focused on accessibility: It would be good to have accessibility champions right from the start – the team can be 3-4 members, but members who are passionate about the concept. The team should include an expert in accessibility/ disability and preferably a person with disability as well. The responsibilities will be to work closely with other teams (especially logistics), to conduct accessibility audits, to create awareness in both the communities about the other and to plan the march well. Having 10-11 volunteers (as a part of the extended team) would be good during the march.
3. Just for Pride march? Or all events? Ideally, accessibility should be taken care of for all community events, not just for Pride. Making any event fully accessible may be an extension especially if you are doing this for the first time, however you could decide to provide specific assistance to any person with disability who wants to participate.
4. Inclusion towards all disabilities: Like sexualities and genders, disabilities are diverse, including locomotor, speech and hearing, psychosocial, visual disabilities, and beyond. Pride should be accessible for persons with less visible/invisible disabilities as well.
5. Decision on budget: Making Pride accessible does involve a budget. A range of INR 8000-15000 should be kept aside for this effort.

Nine Steps to make Pride accessible

1. All venues for all events should be reasonably accessible: Choose venues that have ramps or two steps and not more to ensure accessibility. If you have videos, having a sign language interpreter or subtitles will ensure one can read.
2. Having a footnote in all your communication: Indicate that the event is accessible for persons with disability. Provide coordinates of go-to people, in case people want to participate and need assistance. Potential participants could reach out in advance and specify the assistance required, so that the team could provide the same. The communication should be kept simple and the website/app accessible for persons with visual impairment.
3. Partnering with an accessible cab service provider: This caters largely to persons with locomotor/mobility disability. For the Pride walk itself, you could tie-up with cab services that provide special cabs equipped with aids such as extensible ramps to accommodate wheelchairs, and/or have seating that is easily accessible for persons with disability to mount/dismount. In Bangalore, we tied up with Kick Start Cabs for Namma Pride 2016 who provide such services.
4. Sign language interpretation, subtitles and basic friendliness:  Interventions to include persons with hearing and speech impairment may be made by providing sign language interpreters at major events such as post/pre-Pride speeches, and by ensuring that videos, and movies at screenings are sub-titled. Be friendly and speak to them – most of them will know how to lip read. Having a small notebook and pen will also help.
5. Assign volunteers to each individual with visual impairment: For persons with visual impairments and disabilities that do not come under the above two categories, inclusion can be done with the help of volunteer assistance. We just need to assign a buddy/volunteer with every individual to walk along and describe the happenings of the pride, and help them navigate tricky terrain (such as potholes).
6. Education on LGBTIQ to persons with disability and vice versa: Do sessions, create videos to educate both the communities about each other. Many persons with disability may never have heard of Pride and many queer persons may never have met a person with disability – so educating both sides is imperative.
7. Volunteer training: Share videos like ‘Awkward No More’ to help volunteers understand what it means to volunteer with persons with disability. Partnering with a disability organization and getting volunteers from there is another idea, where extensive training may not be required.
8. Planning, organizing before the march:
   • It is alright to ask persons with disability to register beforehand for special assistance – to accommodate their need.
   • Make a list of persons who have reached out and shown interest in joining.
   • Talk to each individual about what accommodations are required, how flexible they are for walking short distances for example. Be very clear about what is possible and what is not possible Say NO if you cannot accommodate certain requests (for example pickup from home). Respect persons with disability.
   • They have been navigating their way through an in-accessible world every day, so they can make their decisions on how to participate and would ask for help when required.
9. Accessibility Audit: It would be useful to have step-by-step and turn-by-turn clarity of the pride route beforehand, with distance markers. It will be also good to know from the traffic police about points where traffic will be halted, cross-overs and one-ways. Ideally, an accessibility audit should be done by members of the accessibility team to walk the entire route of the pride to assess bottlenecks and challenge point for accessibility. Document hard to walk or wheelchair inaccessible terrains. Ensure police permission is also taken for the cabs/vehicles. Note specific places where cabs/vehicles cannot pass along the pride (one-ways, small lanes etc.). Create an alternate divergent route for the vehicles to take and join back. Note halt points for water and refreshments – they could be kept same as where persons with disability choose to mount/dismount cabs to walk the pride.

Useful references

1. Education on disability for LGBTQIA members (used to create awareness) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NwbgwwUrsE
2. Education on LGBTQIA+ for persons with disability (used to create awareness) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy-AaJ98yM8
3. Suggested note on disability in all the communication on the event (translate as needed): “If you are a person with a disability and/or would need special accommodation to participate in this event, please write to us at xyz@abc.com, providing details about your requirements. We work with you to make your participation possible.”

EXPERIENCE AT NAMMA PRIDE 2016 AS A DISABILITY-ACCESSIBLE PRIDE

Namma Pride 2016, held on November 20, was the first Pride in India to be made accessible for persons with disability. The core accessibility team implemented all of the above steps to ensure that it was made accessible. There was also extensive campaigning done in advance to ensure participation of persons with disability in this celebration.

Outcome: Approximately 40 persons with disability participated in the Namma Pride 2016 march and associated events. This included persons with visual impairment, speech and hearing, and locomotor impairment. There were about four people who identified themselves as queer persons with disability. The feedback was extensively positive with many of the persons with disability having this experience for the first time.

Overall, it was a wonderful foray and was much appreciated by all. As always, any new initiative is a journey of progressive realization, and this was no different. There were a few key learning points, which we are sharing so that you can keep this in mind as you build an accessible Pride.

Key learning: 1) Maintain and buffer additional time to assemble and organize the persons with disability contingent (we already had but it tended to spill over). 2) Keep the cabs in the middle of the Pride march, both led and followed by people. If the cabs lead, the cops tended to speed up the whole march by asking cabs to move faster. 3) It is very important to have the Pride route decided well in advance – changes to the route can lead to a lot of chaos.

The team that made this happen

Core Team: Madhumitha Venkataraman, Ritesh Rajani, Naveen Joshi, Vishnu Soman, Vidushi Jayaswal, Vishnu Soman, Ajmal Muheed, Manas Modi, Manisha Shastri

Partnering Organizations: Enable Community, Kick Start Cabs, GiftAbled Foundation, Adarsh College, YUVA

Extended support from: Romal Liasram Singh, Priyank Asha Sukanand, Nakul Sharma

Volunteers: Madhumitha Venkataraman, Ritesh Rajani, Naveen Joshi, Naren Pai, Rishika, Noah D’Mello, Jason Jacob, Dharam Veer, Ranjitha K, Rohan, Vishwajit Singh, Kamlesh Singh

Email madhumitha.venkataraman@gmail.com for more information on this initiative

CONCLUSION

Building accessibility is a journey of progressive realization, so starting small is good and building on it every year, essential. The objective is not necessarily to have hundreds of persons with disability to participate, but to create a Pride where they are welcome to participate. It is very much like when we create an LGBTQ+ inclusive society, the objective is not for everyone to come out but have a safe/welcoming environment where they can choose to be out. Start by reaching out to small circles in the disability community and invite them to the accessible Pride. It is alright to take small steps in the right direction of full inclusion. Let’s create a more inclusive and accessible Pride for everyone. Happy Pride!

July 2016: A team of diversity professionals based in Bengaluru has launched a guide [click here] that Indian employers can use to help make their workplaces inclusive with respect to sexuality and gender identity.

The authors draw on their diverse experience as allies, employees, employers, educators and members of marginalised communities to condense a wealth of wisdom and practical tips into 13 pages of succinct text.  They walk the uninitiated through the rationale for LGBTIQ+ inclusion, basic concepts of gender and sexuality, the cultural and legal context, characteristics of inclusive workplaces, policies and best practices, and links for further reading.

A highlight of this guide is an overview of the essential parts of  Supreme Court’s NALSA ruling on transgender rights, specifically around the right of trans people to self-identify as male, female or third-gender, and non-requirement of surgery or any other medical intervention for legally recognizing transgender identity.

Also useful is the clarification that supporting LGBTQIA+ people will not place an organization in contravention of Section 377, the antiquated sodomy law that criminalizes certain behaviors, not identities or orientations. Section 377 has often been cited as a concern by Indian employers, including Indian branches of multi-national corporations, and has been used to justify inaction in the area of LGBTIQA+ inclusion. Such concerns are unfounded, as this guide makes clear.

Besides the authors’ obvious competencies in the field, the guide has benefited from review  and input by community members and development professionals, including those working in the field of counselling and psycho-social health, and those associated with Good As You, one of India’s longest-running support groups for the community. These insights have led to such vital policy recommendations as:

Extend support, counseling or mentoring benefits to ensure that they are equipped to handle LGBTIQ-specific needs. Situations that might affect the mental well-being of queer employees could be: coming to terms with their sexuality and/or gender identity, coming out to family, handling marriage pressure, relationship issues.

The guide may be downloaded here.

The more I thought about it, the more sense it made to me. Inclusivity sometimes just becomes a re-drawing of boundaries, even when it’s not meant to be that – a checklist with the different marginalised groups we “include.” For example, many job openings run the disclaimer: “Women, people belonging to different castes, tribal communities and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.” Some people will then critique this statement for not checking enough of the boxes in our politically correct list of marginalised groups, like those excluded, in society, based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

First of all, I doubt anyone can create a checklist that would encompass every such group. And second, this approach reaffirms narratives of “Who is more marginalised?” and “How many categories on this checklist does one person belong to?” These are counter-productive to what a lot of us try to achieve as human rights activists.

I will readily admit that I’ve been guilty of this way of thinking. And while it didn’t make complete sense to me, I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was wrong with it. This is why the statement about ‘opening up’ was so metamorphic for me. It became a one-sentence principle to guide my efforts towards elimination of boundaries versus their re-drawing.

I’ve been working with Amnesty International India for more than six months now. It’s a space that is definitely one of the more progressive and less bigoted work environments I’ve experienced. Having been a part of the LGBTQI support community for a while now, I was happy to notice during my interview that the restrooms here did not have the traditional Women/Men signs (For the purpose of clarity, I would like to mention that these are single-occupancy restrooms).

A month later, when I started working here, those very Women/Men signs greeted me at the restroom doors. And really, what is up with those signs? The Men/Women stick figures are hardly representative of what actual men and women look like. Not that other signs featuring men with moustaches and hats and women with nose pins and long flowing hair do any better and only reinforce gender stereotypes!

The hiring policies and work culture of Amnesty do not reflect this bias, but those restroom signs still had to go. Taking the point of reinforcing gender stereotypes and conformity further, the existence of separate restrooms provides challenges for some transgender and intersex persons. Here are a few reasons why:

1. There aren’t just two genders of ‘man’ or ‘woman.’ A person may not necessarily identify as male or female, and signage that does not recognise other gender identities can become an act of gender discrimination by limiting access.
2. There aren’t just two sexes of male and female. Intersex people, who possess characteristics that do not correspond to normative standards of male or female, need not identify as male or female, irrespective of the sex assigned at their birth.
3. A transgender person may not want to publicly reveal their identity, or may be going through a physical transition to conform to their true gender identity and/or gender expression. The Men/Women signage places them in a situation of conflict: of either having to use a restroom they do not prefer, or out themselves at a time when they may not be ready. And all this when a person may already be going through physical, hormonal and psychological changes and stress.

Also important to consider is the violence a transgender or intersex person might face in restrooms that have distinct and exclusively Men/Women multiple-occupant restroom stalls. A transwoman or hijra using a women’s restroom could be misperceived as a man using a women’s restroom he doesn’t have the right to or vice-versa. This makes it that much more necessary for both public and private spaces to also have individual gender-neutral restrooms (This does not, of course, take away from the need to have women-only – including transwomen – restroom stalls in certain locations, which may be desirable for various reasons, including safety).

After putting together a proposal to our HR department and a consultation with the senior management, we’ve now removed the Women/Men restroom signs in our office and replaced them with ‘all gender restroom’ signs. This step at the Amnesty workplace, and the call for gender-neutral restrooms in public spaces, complements the April 2014 Supreme Court judgment in the NALSA versus Union of India case that directed the legal recognition of transgender persons’ gender identities.

This judgment instituted the right to self identity, called for non-discrimination of transgenders and improved access to opportunities and public spaces. The Court specifically observed that access to public toilets was a problem for transgender persons, who are often forced to use toilets for men, where they are vulnerable to sexual assault and harassment. International human rights law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.

International human rights treaties that India has agreed to be bound by have been interpreted as prohibiting discrimination on these grounds. UN human rights experts have confirmed that international law prohibits discriminatory treatment in a range of everyday settings like workplaces, schools and hospitals.

‘Being inclusive’ also comes with the implication that it is a thing that you do. You either are inclusive (of certain people) or you are not, similar to the checklist reference, while ‘opening up’ implies more of a process. Nobody has it all figured out. No space is perfectly inclusive. Not even human rights spaces. I doubt anyone knows what such a space would even look like. However, it is important that we start the process – think, listen and act.

This article originally appeared on Social Story, and has been reproduced with consent.

a) It is good that the judgment recognizes ‘transgender’ broadly to encompass various prominent regional and trans-regional communities/identities like Hijras, Kothis, Aravanis, Jogappas, Shiv Shaktis, etc., (pgs. 11, 56, 109, 110), and also at least *tries* to recognize the diversity and variety in these communities, which may not conform to a singular pre-set idea of what being ‘transgender’ means. This means that potentially it could serve as a strategic tool to advocate legal rights for and counteract gender/sexuality-based discrimination against a range of persons and communities, including gender variant LGB people. However, as several people have already pointed out, trans men and trans masculine spectrum people are mentioned far less (only on pgs. 35 and 61 so far as I could find), and one wonders whether the benefits of the judgment will reach out to them as much. Already in the media coverage, one can see how it has been largely taken to pertain to Hijras and their recognition as a ‘third gender’; and at several points the judgment almost conflates ‘transgender’ with ‘hijra’, e.g. the repeated use of the phrase ‘hijra/transgender’ (pg. 128).

b) That brings me to the question of gender identity and recognition. The judgment has been much lauded for upholding “transgender persons’ right to decide their self- identified gender”, whether as male, female or third gender/transgender, and for asking states to grant such legal recognition (pg. 128) – without mentioning a requirement for surgery or hormones at least at that precise part of the judgment. However, the judgment is very unclear, confused and even conflicted on the procedures for granting such recognition, and contradictorily veers between gender self-determination and biological essentialism. At one point it cites the Argentina model which allows for self-identification without requiring medical certification, a model which has been lauded by many trans* activists. Yet at other points it seems to suggest that ‘psychological tests’ would be necessary (pgs. 45, pg 84), which is potentially very problematic given the constraints of how diagnosis of gender dysphoria works in psychiatry and medicine, as it is often based on binary and linear models of identification, which works for some but not other trans/gender variant people. At one point it even seems to stipulate the biologically essentialist requirement that surgery to change ‘physical form’ would be necessary for recognition as (trans) male or female, even if not for ‘third gender’ (pg. 108, “we are of the opinion that… a person has a constitutional right to get the recognition as male or female *after SRS*, which was not only his/her gender characteristic but has become his/her physical form as well”, my emphasis.) Since it passes the onus for legal identity recognition on to central and state governments, it seems likely that different states will interpret it in their own ways and will fix the procedures that they deem fit, which probably means that procedures will be haphazard, will vary between states, and that there will probably be quite a bit of gender policing by state bureaucratic mechanisms (determining who can be third gender, who can be recognized as transitioned male or female, etc.) – and requirements like surgery and hormones might well come back (which are unavailable to many trans* people, and many don’t want them). This also means that trans*/gender variant people will have to negotiate various bureaucratic mechanisms and arbitrary rules regarding gender recognition in order to get the legal i.ds they would likely need to access welfare measures like reservations in jobs or education.

c) Lastly, continuing on the topic of procedure, on page 129 the judgment defers to the Expert Committee constituted by MOSJE (Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment) for suggesting measures and recommendations, which probably means that the MSJE report  will provide the concrete procedural guidelines that are missing in the SC judgment. Now, the MOSJE recommends on pg. 34 of its report that ‘Certificate that a person is a transgender person should be issued by a state level authority duly designated or constituted by respective the State/UT’, and these state-appointed committees will comprise a psychiatrist, social worker, two transgender representatives, etc. Again, this suggests that the “transgender persons’ right to decide their self- identified gender” as male/female/third will not be accessible easily after all, and will be subject to the requirement to ‘prove’ one’s gender identity to the bureaucracy as per its rules – the MOSJE rejects the simpler option that one could just submit affidavits by oneself and one’s friends as proof of one’s sincerity and honesty in declaring their gender. Again, this suggests there will be quite a bit of identity policing, and requirements like surgery/hormones may return especially if one wants legal recognition as the ‘opposite’ gender. Also, as my friend and sister Sumi (secretary, Moitrisanjog Society Coochbehar) pointed out, there will probably be a lot of petty politics and cut-throat competition regarding which transgender people get to be on these certifying committees, and people will probably accuse each other of being ‘fake hijras’ or ‘part-time TG’ and thus not really transgender, and so on, just like what has already happened in the case of TG funding in HIV-AIDS. But these are some inevitable perils of the biopolitical recognition of identity as the basis for rights and citizenship; one can only hope that the political horizon of trans*/hijra/kothi/FTM/butch (etc.) communities will hopefully go beyond such biopolitics, even as we stake our rightful claim to identity-based rights and recognition.

For more analyses of the NALSA vs. Union of India 2014 judgement, visit https://new2.orinam.net/resources-for/law-and-enforcement/nalsa-petition-tg-rights-india/

The workplace occupies significant part of our daily lives. Gone are the days when we used to carry only our heads to work. These days, a work situation requires so much creativity and energy that it demands you in complete form. It is essential for one to take one’s head, heart and needless to mention—physical or ethereal— body! Our sexuality and gender, naturally, follow us to our workplaces.

Putting aside the more advanced aspects of human resource policies around LGBT inclusion such as partner policies and spouse health benefits, I’d like to reflect on the many everyday instances where our genders and sexualities are made to feel left out; or by contrast, picked on. Take, for instance, the office water cooler. While gulping down a tumbler-full, one feels the need to make small talk with one’s co-workers. One cannot help but touch upon topics of market, politics and – everybody’s favourite – relationship status. I have been asked about my non-existent girlfriend so many times now, that I feel obligated to have one just so that those few seconds of futile socializing pass by without choking. Nothing very dreadful for LGBTQ so far, and one’s LGBTQness doesn’t need a place in documents and policies of the firm just for this much. We have learnt well, over the years, to dodge these prying questions.

But, then if you become the outcast for not incessantly talking about girls (speaking for self here, my lesbian and bi women friends can modify suitably), and not being interested in ogling at  every “chick” walking by, you are likely to attract some nasty comments. No, being called gay isn’t nasty. Being called gay nastily is. Because then you are being discriminated against, and you know that the ludicrous thing here is not something you said or did, but your being (or even the notion of your being) gay. Now these jokes and jibes at your expense may or may not make you strong, depending on your mettle, but you definitely don’t deserve this at your workplace. You are fighting enough battles within and out already!

To reduce this struggle for workplace equality to a mere consequence of being in the closet, and exhorting all people to come out, is inappropriate. Coming out has always been, and will always be, a matter best left to each individual’s circumstances. We all get there at our own pace, with or without support, with or without effort. To push sexual minorities to a corner through callous remarks and insinuations, and then expect them to bounce back, knocking down their closet doors and emerging in a flurry of rainbows so that the politically correct response “Oh, you’re Gay! We support you!” can then be activated is rather cruel. There is no need for that kind of pressure, at least not at the workplace where there is already pressure to perform.

Organizations are well within their right to chose their modes and values of their functioning. But it is productive for them in the long run, if they are able to keep people together. A company need not be ostentatiously “gay-friendly” with designated staff sporting ‘ally’ badges and websites celebrating their Gay Employee of the Month, or whatever. A ‘be and let be’ policy is good for starters. What I ask for is sensitization of everybody in the workplace. If  individuals choose to come out as a consequence of this policy then all’s fine and well: we could then go for ‘all homo’ picnics and probably drag along our ‘fag hags’. But it’s paramount that the modern company in India acknowledge that we LGBTQ people are here, visible or not, and that the company wants them here no less (and no more) than anybody else who is as qualified and competent.

Apart from the need to have non-discrimination policies at work, LGBTQ support groups external to the firm have a very important role to play in producing environments of understanding. Public discourse generated by events such as panel discussions, movie screenings,  events that you could take or refer your co-workers to as part of sensitizing them, needs to keep happening. On the flip side, there is very little meaning in treating  non-normative sexuality or gender identity as something flashy and different, and regarding LGBTQ colleagues as a rare or exotic species, in the name of inclusiveness. What we need in the workplace is an atmosphere of continuous and intrinsic inclusiveness that is not contingent on people being out. Such an atmosphere is not created merely by companies jumping on the gay-friendly bandwagon because of commands from headquarters or new policy imposed on a local office by the powers that be. Knowledge, sensitivity and genuine intent to address LGBTQ issues are the needs of the hour. Such inclusion without explosion will surely take some time, and businesses must take it up as a part of their larger inclusion and diversity mandate.

In a nation where persecution of inter-caste couples painfully makes it to the front page everyday, recognition of same-sex partners by organizations is still a matter of wishful thinking. Nonetheless, proper orientation (yes, the one with Powerpoint ppt-s too!) of the leaders of organizations is essential to make every individual more informed and sensitive on LGBTQ issues. We understand that a majority do not know, hence do not understand. Facts and data will work in our favour, if the point below does not:

It has been four years since the historic Naz Foundation judgement decriminalized us. We have four long years of evidence to our credit to say, “Look! The country hasn’t gone to the dogs because of us, as you feared! Has your family structure broken down? Don’t you still live your every day as it pleases you? The only difference is: now, WE have the opportunity to do so too!”.

At the same time, some of us are seeking inclusion within these very institutions. Orinam is pleased to report two developments that bode well for our trans communities in India.

First, from Bangalore, comes the welcome news that  the  High Court, on Feb 5, 2012,  took on board a 27-year-old transgender in the Group D category. “C. Anu, daughter of the late Chennappa, a painter, and a resident of New Geddalahalli in Bangalore, received the appointment letter from Altamas Kabir, judge of the Supreme Court, and Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen during the valedictory ceremony of the mega lok adalats held here” says The Hindu.

Next, The Hindu’s Chennai edition, Feb 6, 2011, reports that the Church of South India Diocesan Ministerial Committee is reviewing a proposal to ordain Bharathi, a transwoman, as a priest. Bharathi has a Bachelor’s in Theology and is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Divinity in Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary. Reverend Devasahayam, Bishop of Madras Diocese, has been quoted as saying “we have asked her to visit various congregations to sensitise and educate people to recognise and respect the identity of her community”. Coverage by the Times of India is here.

Here’s wishing Anu and Bharathi much success in their chosen paths, and in forging new ones.