Despite having transgender policy, Kerala continues to fail trans community

In what has come as a shocking development, trans people were attacked, abused and molested for the second time in a week in Kerala's capital city Thiruvananthapuram. 

After a mob accused a trans woman of abducting children and attacked her without any proof earlier this week, a man harassed a group of transgenders and molested one of the activists who came to help them.

Kerala had gained worldwide publicity after it became the first Indian state to introduce transgender policy back in 2015. The southern state also hogged the limelight when it gave employment to 23 transgenders when the Kochi Metro was launched last year.

However, all these measures can't cover up the fact that transphobia has reached alarming levels in a state that boasts of such high literacy. The Kerala government’s claims that the state is transgender-friendly is a lie. 10 transphobic attacks - including a murder - were reported in the state in the second half of last year itself. 

The transgender community in the state is living in fear. Most of the crimes against them boil down to a misguided fear of trans people. The trans community also accuses the police of targeting them and framing them under false charges.

The transgender policy will only work if the police and the public are sensitised. Otherwise, it's just another gimmick by the government, while the crimes against the community continue.

• Kerala
• trans-community
• government
• CPI
• CPI(M)
• unsafe
• violence
• harassment
• rape