'Transgender' option to be included in all govt application forms in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In what is being seen as a major triumph for the transgender community, the Kerala Government has decided to include 'transgender' option to be in all application forms.

The State Health and Social Justice Minister KK Shailaja said on Monday that the application forms currently used for various purposes in all departments of the state government will be revised to include transgender as a 'gender identity option.'

What this basically means is that all the government application forms currently in use will include woman/men/transgender/transwoman/transmen.

Shailaja said that this will be another recognition for the progress of the community. "This will help in the upliftment of the community," he said.

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"The government applications can be changed to woman/men/transgender/transwoman/transmen since Kerala has a transgender policy and the state government finances their gender reassignment surgery," a source said.

KK Shailaja further said the decision was taken after understanding that the inclusion of this category in the application form would be beneficial to the individuals of the community as their identities are clearly stated in the Transgender Personnel Protection of Rights Act, 2019.

Notably, Kerala is the first State in India which declared a Transgender Policy after the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in 2014.

Kerala State Women Development Corporation recently decided to provide self-employment loans of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 15 lakh to the community's persons and groups.

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