SHILLONG: In a major decision, the State Cabinet has amended the Meghalaya Registration of Birth and Death Rules, 1999 which would pave way for the recognition of the transgender in the state.
The decision came from the State Cabinet after a circular from the Ministry of Home Affairs following the order of the Supreme Court created the “third gender” status
Speaking to media persons here after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister, Mukul Sangma said that now three options of male, female and transgender will be given to individuals while they are indicating their gender.
“Now they will have the right to indicate their gender,” Sangma said, adding that the provisions of third gender will be put in all the forms for the people to indicate their gender as per the Supreme Court order.
The State Government, however, does not have a data of transgenders population in the state and the data will be created after the new exercise as was done in the case of single mothers in the state whose data was created following the rollout of the Chief Minister’s Special Assistance programme to single mothers in the state.
The order from the Supreme Court came in the year , 2014 when the Apex Court asked the Centre to treat transgender as socially and economically backward.
The apex court said that transgender will be allowed admission in educational institutions and given employment on the basis that they belonged to the third gender category
