Founder of the Punarjani Cultural Society, 35-year-old Sisily George, a trans woman from Kozhikode, was ecstatic when she got her voter ID with her chosen name. However, recently when she received her new voter ID she was disappointed to see that she had been misgendered again.

In 2014, the NALSA judgement declared that the fundamental rights granted under the Constitution of India will be equally applicable to transgender people. It also mentioned that the trans community has the right to self-identification, be it male, female, or third gender.

But Sisily stated that she had a problem with being identified as ‘third gender’, as it meant that the trans community comes third after ‘male’ and female’.

“If we are the ‘third gender’ then what are cis men – ‘first’ gender? Are women the ’second’ gender and do they come only after men? I don’t want to be relegated to the third position as I believe that I have equal rights as men and women and therefore should receive the same opportunities and respect that these two genders get,” she said.

Two days after she received her voter ID, on February 28, Sisly approached the Kozhikode collectorate to get the document rectified.

“I had specifically requested that I be identified as a transgender woman/female in my ID. But when I got it, it is mentioned as third gender, a term I do not identify with,” she told TNM.

“I ran from pillar to post for about six months to get this ID. I had to get my TG Identity card (given by Kerala), my Aadhaar, and a photograph to apply for the voter ID. I visited the Gazette office multiple times to get my documents changed, I visited the Chief Electoral Officer’s office a few times to get the voter ID. But now, it is useless as I am still misgendered in the ID proof.”

As the Transgender ID card or TG card is the only proof that most of the members of the trans community carry, Sisly added, “Many of my community members have run away from their homes or are school dropouts. They don’t have any proper certificates with them barring their TG cards. Many of them are also scared to get their certificates and ID proofs changed as they fear backlash from society. Therefore, the state should be careful when issuing ID proofs to them.”

She is now determined to get her voter ID rectified before the polling day.

H/T: The News Minute