Feminists, lawyers urge MPs to reject ‘unconstitutional’ amendments to transgender Act

On Saturday (March 21, 2026), implicit 100 members of feminist and lawyer groups wrote an unfastened missive to MPs, appealing to them to cull the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026. They termed it “unconstitutional” arsenic it seeks to present “arbitrary and inhumane requirements”, which volition marque entree to cardinal rights and entitlements intolerable for a ample fig of transgender persons. 

Last week, the Union authorities introduced a Bill to amend the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which takes distant the transgender people’s “right to self-perceived sex identity”, and alters the explanation of a “transgender person”. 

The unfastened missive was written by All-India Feminist Alliance, a pan-India corporate of grassroots organisations; and the National Alliance for Justice, Accountability and Rights, a forum of lawyers and ineligible professionals. 

The 2 groups reiterated the criticisms of the Bill made by transgender communities successful the past week. The criticisms included that it narrows the explanation of transgender people, takes distant the close to self-perceived sex identity, and introduces aesculapian gatekeeping. It added that it criminalises transgender people’s enactment systems, and further marginalises and excludes the astir vulnerable. 

The groups person urged MPs to guarantee the Amendment Bill successful its existent signifier beryllium afloat withdrawn, and it beryllium sent to the existing Parliamentary Standing Committee connected Social Justice and Empowerment for a broad review. The committee shall consult transgender, intersex, non-binary, and genderqueer communities astir the procedural aspects and limitations of the 2019 Act and the existent Amendment, they added. 

“We impulse that lone aft the Standing Committee submits its recommendations, successful airy of specified evidence-generating exercises, should determination beryllium immoderate effort astatine legislative review, towards further strengthening of rights guaranteed nether NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) 2014,” the missive said.