Transgender. A Marginalized and Stigmatized Community

Document from the year 2018 in the subject Sociology - Gender Studies, grade: A, The University of Kashmir (Department of Sociology), course: PhD, language: English, abstract: Down the ages, our society has condemned and alienated people who do not conform to its norms. Transgender persons are one such group of people who have been marginalized, abused, disdained and callously neglected community in almost every known society. The term transgender is generally used to describe those who transgress social gender norms. Transgender is often used as an umbrella term to signify individuals who defy rigid, binary gender constructions and who expresses or present a breaking and blurring of culturally prevalent stereotypically gender roles. It includes pre-operative, post-operative and non- operative transsexual people who strongly identify with gender opposite to their biological sex. Transgender are known locally 'laanch' in Kashmir. They face discrimination in every aspect of life be it employment, legal recognition, access to social resources including decent life standard and education. As in other parts of the country, the third gender in Kashmir exists, but their existence is hardly recognized by the society and they are pushed to the boundaries. Though the J&K government has set up a committee to monitor and examine the formulation of various welfare policies on transgenders, a lot needs to be done. This study intended to expose sufferings, discrimination and marginalization of transgender; these persons are usually rejected from their families and other social organizations and face varied forms of social exclusion. The article is mostly based on secondary sources, as well as on observations.

Autorentext

Mansoor Ahmad is Post-Doctoral Fellow in Sociology from university of Kashmir, Department of sociology. He has presented and published his papers in various local, national and international level conferences and journals.