Bhopal: The Congress government in the state has decided to impart educational and vocational training to members of the transgender community.
According to data provided by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, there are about 23,000 transgenders in the state and most of them are engaged in their traditional trade of singing and dancing in marriages and other such occasions.
This was revealed after the department decided to undertake a study to assess the social status of the community in Bhopal. The study was conducted by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis.
Based on the outcome of the proposed training programme, people from the third gender could be offered reservation in government jobs, said sources, adding this would ensure the neglected community is brought closer to mainstream society.
Director Social Justice and Empowerment Krishna Gopal Tiwari said a budget has been sanctioned and based on recommendations, further steps would be taken to uplift the marginalised community.
Madhya Pradesh was also the first state in the country to have elected a eunuch, Shabnam Mausi Bano, as an MLA. In 1998, four years after transgenders were offered voting rights, Bano had successfully contested the elections from Sohagpur constituency in Shahdol district. She had also inspired many others from her community to join politics.
In 2014, Bano, then a former MLA, and ex-mayor, Kamla Bua, announced their decision to join the state’s Swachhta Abhiyan. The previous Shivraj Singh Chouhan government had formed the Kinnar Kalyan Board in the state to look into the welfare of the community.
Last year, transgender activist Sanjana Singh had become the first government officer of the country after being appointed the personal secretary of the Director Social Justice and Disabled Persons’ Welfare in Bhopal.
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