JAIPUR: Malini Das, a 25-year-old transgender in Jaipur, has been in a relationship with Ankit Kumawat for the last five years. Against all odds, both were able to convince their families to accept their relationship but beyond that, they have no rights to live as lawfully wedded husband and wife.
Under the law in India, there is no provision in which a transgender person can marry — a male or a female — due to which their relationship is still not accepted by the society or by law. Neither Personal Marriage Acts nor Special Marriage Act mentions transgenders, which has made it difficult for them to validate their relationship in public.
Malini says, “I recognise myself as transgender and my partner is completely accepting to this fact but we are not socially or legally accepted as people do not consider it to be a right form of relationship. There are thousands of transgenders in the state but unless we have legal marital rights as a spouse, there will be no security for us.”
Unlike Malini and Ankit, most transgenders have to hide their relationship from the society. Sunita (name changed), another transgender from Jaipur, was in a relationship with a man for six years secretly, as it was difficult for the guy to accept her socially.
“He got married two years back which was painful for me. I understand his difficulty but if there was some kind of a law in favour of our community, I guess it would have been easier for us. Transgenders have always been socially boycotted. Getting marital rights will be another step in getting our freedom to live as a dignified citizen,” said Sunita.
Majority of the transgenders are in a live-in relationship with their partners, although they can get married in a religious ceremony.
Pushpa Mai, head of Nayi Bhor Organization said, “I agree that a transgender can marry his/her partner in a religious ceremony, but if the partner leaves her after ten years, what legal rights do they have? We want legal backing to our rights that will help us secure our future. There is an urgent need to amend the law.”
However, there is a way through which a transgender can legally marry. According to a Supreme Court judgment, a person can choose to declare being a male, female or transgender. Hence, if a man later changes his sex and becomes a woman, declares himself as a woman and not as a transgender, he can marry legally under the law. Same goes in case of a woman.
Mitul Jain, a Rajasthan High Court lawyer, who has been working with the community for a long time, said, “This has been a long-standing demand of the community — to get married with transgender status. In 2019, Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Act was implemented, in which there was no mention of property or marital rights of the community. There is a need to implement the law as soon as possible to uplift these people.”