India urged to include intersex people in bill protecting trans rights
Indian’s parliament has been urged to include intersex people in a bill to protect the rights of trans people.
The Transgender Rights Bill 2014 was passed in the upper house of India’s parliament.
However activists are now urging for the bill to include intersex rights, before it is signed into law.
Srishti Madurai, a gender rights organisation, is pushing MPs to include intersex people in the bill.
Gopi Shankar, a founding member of Srishti Madurai, said: “We will impress upon BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje, who is likely to sponsor the Bill in the forthcoming Lok Sabha session, to include intersex persons too.”
Shankar noted a “lack of awareness” about intersex people, including among medical practitioners.
“As there is lack of awareness about them among the general public and medical practitioners, protection by law could help them from being subjected to sexual abuse,” he said.
