Kolkata: The West Bengal cabinet has decided to allow people from the transgender community to apply for government jobs under the general category, an official said. A bill in this regard will be introduced during the next budget session, he said. “This new law will be helpful for transgenders in getting jobs. It will be formulated in the next budget session,” the official said on Friday.
The Bengal assembly passed the West Bengal Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules 2022, making protection from discrimination, right to healthcare, employment, education and legal rights for transgender persons.
Parliament had passed The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, under which, several states are framing rules to enforce them legally.
Under the rules, Bengal now identifies transgender persons as those whose gender differs from what it was at birth. It brings under its ambit, trans men and women, people who have inter-sex variations, queers, and people with distinct identities, like hijras. The rule says, “A person recognized as a transgender person under the provisions of the said Act shall have a right to self-perceived gender identity.”
State Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said the new rules will be worked out based on the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked the social welfare department to formulate rules that will enable transgenders to have equal opportunities in all fields.
Like Bengal, several other states, including Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Manipur and Gujarat, have started implementing the Act after framing the rules.
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