The West Bengal government has decided to set up a transgender welfare board, The Hindu quoted State Women and Child Development minister Sashi Panja as saying at the first ‘State Level Consultation on the Rehabilitation and Welfare of Transgender Community’ that was held on July 15th.
Bengal is the third state in the country to set up such a board. Tamil Nadu was the first state to set up the board in 2008 and was followed by Maharashtra. Karnataka too has set up an an 11-member sub-committee to frame policies for transgender welfare. The development follows the recent Supreme Court judgment in the NALSA case where the court ordered state and central governments to extend all welfare schemes to the trans community.
The welfare of the trans community would require the active coordination of the department of health, backward classes welfare and school education, the minister said.
Though official figures put the number of trans people in the state at 30,349, activists say that the number is much more.
- Queer Struggle Doesn’t End With Section 377 Or Same-Sex Marriage Laws - November 26, 2016
- Video Series Captures Life Experiences of LGBTQ People - May 18, 2016
- Two LGBT Activists Hacked To Death In Bangladesh - April 25, 2016