Despite being ostracized and facing discrimination, India’s trans community is slowly gaining acceptance with Odisha’s Sweekruti “acceptance” program. The program provides critical healthcare, scholarships, counseling, legal aid, and skill training, helping trans people receive low-paying jobs and gain acceptance. While the government’s initiative has been hailed as successful, advocates are calling for more public participation to strengthen the existing implementation machinery.
In 2014, the Indian Supreme Court recognized a trans person as a “third gender,” and the Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 was passed in the Indian Parliament, leading several states to introduce measures to help the trans community. Odisha, a state in eastern India, is one such state, with the Sweekruti program aiming to make trans people part of mainstream society.
According to a recent report, around 300 trans people have already received jobs through the program, creating an ecosystem of equal opportunities, social justice, and protection of transgender rights. Anushree Dash, a social reformer and human rights activist, believes the program is opening various avenues of employment and self-employment for the community. While it primarily focuses on skill development and low-paying jobs instead of higher education and high-paying jobs, there is still no trans inclusion in social sector and government sector jobs.
The 2011 Census notes that there are over 20,000 trans people in Odisha, with a significant percentage living in poverty. While the government has introduced a monthly pension program for elderly and differently-abled trans people, the Sweekruti program has been hailed as a successful initiative because it directly provides low-paying jobs to trans people and helps trans youth gain acceptance. However, advocates are calling for the government to address the root causes of discrimination and exclusion that lead to trans and gender non-conforming children dropping out of educational institutions and being deprived of mainstream employment.
In conclusion, while the Odisha government’s initiative is a step in the right direction, it is crucial to converge initiatives and stakeholders from all sectors to address the issues around transgender persons from a development perspective. It is time to stop seeing transgender persons as just beneficiaries of governmental largesse and recognize them as equal stakeholders in development actions.