Assessing The Relevance Of Horizontal Reservation For Indian Trans Community

Assessing the relevance of horizontal reservation for the Indian trans community. Explore the demands, benefits, and challenges surrounding this policy while understanding the diversity within the community and the need for inclusive measures.

Aarish Gazi

In recent years, the Indian government has made efforts to include marginalised communities by implementing horizontal reservation policies. These policies aim to provide equal opportunities and representation for disadvantaged groups. This article explores the relevance and demand of horizontal reservation specifically for the trans community in India, focusing on their access to education and employment.

Understanding Horizontal Reservation

Horizontal reservation involves the allocation of a certain percentage or number of seats or positions to specific marginalised groups, regardless of their gender, caste, or religion. This policy aims to ensure proportional representation and address systemic discrimination. While historically focused on caste-based quotas, the need to extend these positions to other marginalised groups, including the transgender community, is escalating.

Why Is The Indian Trans Community Demanding Horizontal Reservation?

Recognising The Diversity Within The Trans Community

The Indian trans community has long endured social stigma, discrimination, and exclusion, resulting in limited access to education, employment, and opportunities. It, therefore, becomes more crucial to acknowledge that the transgender community is not homogenous. Trans people come from a variety of backgrounds, and clubbing them into one homogenous identity—transgender—erases the experience of their complex identities.

Understanding intersectionality thus becomes crucial when considering the specific needs and challenges faced by different marginalised groups within the trans community. Transgender individuals from lower castes, religious minorities, or economically disadvantaged backgrounds may experience compounded discrimination. Addressing these intersecting factors is essential to providing comprehensive support and promoting meaningful inclusion.

For example, SC-ST transgender individuals face compound discrimination due to their multiple marginalised identities. By not allowing individuals like them to claim their right to reservation under both the SC/ST categories and the transgender quota, the system fails to address the unique challenges faced by SC-ST trans people.

Benefits Of Horizontal Reservation

Horizontal reservation presents a solution by providing a legal playing field for transgender icommunity. Reserving seats in educational institutions and jobs in the public sector can create opportunities for education, stable employment, and the involvement of trans people in the decision-making mechanisms.

Horizontal reservation accurately addresses the concerns raised by the intersectionality of multiple marginalised identities within the trans community. The policy effectively recognises and accommodates the diverse experiences within the trans community.

Considering the aforementioned example of intersectionality, horizontal reservation is helpful in creating separate reservation provisions that specifically cater to the needs of  the SC-ST trans community, ensuring that they are not deprived of the benefits they are entitled to under existing reservation policies.

One of the primary advantages of horizontal reservation for the trans community is increased representation and opportunities in various sectors. This representation challenges stereotypes, raises awareness, and promotes societal acceptance. Horizontal reservation for transgender and intersex people ensures that their caste identity is not hidden and their systematic oppression on multiple bases is not trivialised.

Horizontal reservation has not been without controversy. Some argue that it dilutes the benefits of existing reservation policies, while others believe it is an essential step towards inclusive representation. Protests and demands for horizontal reservation have highlighted the urgency of addressing the unique challenges faced by the trans community.

To promote a fair and just society, it is essential to engage in open dialogue and consider the demands and concerns raised by various stakeholders. By including the voices of transgender individuals and LGBTQ+ community in policy discussions, it becomes possible to design reservation policies that address the unique challenges faced by these marginalised groups. This requires a collaborative effort between policymakers, activists, and community representatives to ensure that horizontal reservation policies are truly inclusive and reflective of the diverse needs of the trans community.

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While society is moving ahead towards being more inclusive and accepting of the trans community, it is crucial to recognise the diversity within the community. By not allowing individuals to claim their right to reservation under both; the marginalised identity and the transgender quota, we risk perpetuating injustice. It is imperative to engage in dialogue and reform, ensuring that reservation policies are comprehensive, inclusive, and address the unique challenges faced by marginalised groups within the transgender community. By doing so, India can move towards a more equitable and just society for all.

Courtesy : Her Zindagi

Note: This news piece was originally published in herzindagi.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights