Transgender people in the state of Karnataka will soon have separate wards for them in state-run hospitals. According to an order passed by the state Government, all government hospitals at district and taluk headquarters and hospitals run by the medical education department must have a two-bed ward reserved for the treatment of people from transgender community, reported BangaloreMirror.
A transgender person will no longer be required to produce a castration certificate for availing the benefits provided the state government. They can instead submit an affidavit along with a membership reference from either Sangama or the Karnataka Sexual Minorities Federation (KSMF) which are working for the upliftment of the transgender community in the state.
The order comes a few weeks before Bangalore Pride March, which will be held on Nov 24. Pride organizers have raised a number of demands this year, many of them for the upliftment and better treatment of transgender community. A key demand of the organizers is better medical facilities for transgender community, including free access to SRS (Sex Reassignment Surgery) and Hormone Replacement Therapy in Government Hospitals.