Betwixt and between

[Shana A]

Betwixt and between
The absence of legal recognition stands in the way of the social acceptance of the transgender community. Smitha Verma on the need for legal reforms to empower the third sex

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110302/jsp/opinion/story_13655143.jsp

When Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, a transgender activist, was asked to leave the Gymkhana Club in Mumbai last year, she knew it was still a long walk on the road to social acceptance for the third sex. Tripathi, who has spoken for transgender rights at the United Nations and other international fora, was humiliated in her own hometown for being a member of the transgender community.

"I am not a man, not a woman, I am a hijra — the third sex and society should accept me the way I am," said Tripathi later at a seminar.