--- title: India Recognizes Transgender As A Third Gender | TIME description: India's Supreme Court is requiring the government give transgender people equal access to all the social welfare programs offered to other minority groups, a move Indian media are calling a "landmark judgment." canonical: https://time.com/video/phUyVwNv/ og:title: India Recognizes Transgender As A Third Gender og:description: India's Supreme Court is requiring the government give transgender people equal access to all the social welfare programs offered to other minority groups, a move Indian media are calling a "landmark judgment." og:url: https://time.com/video/phUyVwNv/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/phUyVwNv/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: India Recognizes Transgender As A Third Gender twitter:description: India's Supreme Court is requiring the government give transgender people equal access to all the social welfare programs offered to other minority groups, a move Indian media are calling a "landmark judgment." twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/phUyVwNv/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # India Recognizes Transgender As A Third Gender > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: India Recognizes Transgender As A Third Gender [Watch (HLS stream): India Recognizes Transgender As A Third Gender](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/phUyVwNv.m3u8) (1:44)  _Published 2014-04-15. India's Supreme Court is requiring the government give transgender people equal access to all the social welfare programs offered to other minority groups, a move Indian media are calling a "landmark judgment."_ --- Jul 27, 2023 4:23 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Supreme Court Seems Likely to Uphold Tennessee’s Ban on Medical Treatments for Transgender Minors](/video/k0jo3eGS/) ### Supreme Court Seems Likely to Uphold Tennessee’s Ban on Medical Treatments for Transgender Minors [Transgender Bathroom Rights Rescinded](/video/cJfozVdP/) ### Transgender Bathroom Rights Rescinded [Transgender Rights in India](/video/Hyp6L0Gr/) ### Transgender Rights in India --- ## Transcript The world's largest democracy now recognizes a third gender status for those who identify as neither male nor female. India's Supreme Court is requiring the government give transgender people equal access to all the social welfare programs offered to other minority groups. Indian media are calling that decision a landmark judgment. Al Jazeera quotes one of the justices who said while handing down the ruling, recognition of transgenders as a third gender is not a social or medical issue, but a human rights issue. The ruling surely came as a relief for the activists who had campaigned on behalf of India's estimated three million transgendered people. But a Dubai- based equal rights activist tells Deutsche Avaya, don't expect attitudes to change overnight. Discrimination against the transgender people is deeply ingrained in people's minds. They are economically and socially marginalized, and are not even treated as humans. So, in a sense, Tuesday's judging seems surprising from a traditionally conservative country like India. But while the West has been slow to move on transgender rights, Southeast Asia has been at the forefront. Most recently neighboring Nepal added a third gender option on it's citizenship certificates, and last year, Bangladesh too officially recognized a third gender. Still it is worth noting Tuesday's ruling came from the same court that in December reinstated a ban on gay sex, infuriating LGBT activists around the world. According to the BBC, this leaves transgender people in an awkward situation. They are now legally recognized and protected under the Constitution, but on the other hand, they may be breaking the law if they have consensual gay sex. While rarely enforced, gay sex in India is currently punishable by up to 10 years in prison. 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