Transgender Groups Protest Amendment Bill

Hyderabad: A coalition of transgender individuals, activists, students and civil society groups gathered at Dharna Chowk on Wednesday to oppose the proposed Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, terming it as a rollback of constitutional protections and demanding its withdrawal.

“This law takes us back not a few years but 126 years,” said senior human rights and RTI activist Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli, associating the law with the colonial-era Telangana Eunuch Act. He reminded the meeting that courts had previously described such laws as “an attack on the dignity of transgender people.”

Speakers pointed out the impact of this situation on daily life. “At a time when I was just starting to feel like I could live with recognition as a human being, this bill took away all hope,” said transgender rights activist and advocate Kiran Raj. “If this law becomes law, will we still have the freedom to say ‘I am a trans man’ or ‘I am a trans woman’?” he asked.

Concerns centered on the requirement for a medical certificate. “Why should people like me have to stand before the medical board to prove who we are?” asked Kiran, warning that this could lead to coercive practices such as correctional therapies and forced marriages. Clinical psychologist Aarathi Selvan added: “When there is discrimination and institutional abandonment, it leads to extreme stress, anxiety, depression and even suicidal thoughts. A trans person’s gender identity is not determined by how others perceive them. It is a deeply felt sense of self.”

Speakers also touched on India’s legal history. “All we have is NALSA. If NALSA goes, almost everything is gone,” Vyjayanti said, referring to the Supreme Court’s recognition of self-identification.