People from the LGBTQIA+ community protest against the proposed Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2026 at Dharna Chowk in Hyderabad on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Photo credit: SIDDHANT THAKUR
On Saturday (March 21, 2026), more than 100 members of feminist and legal groups wrote an open letter to MPs urging them to reject the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill 2026. They called it “unconstitutional” because it seeks to impose “arbitrary and inhumane requirements on large numbers of trans people” that will deny access to basic transgender rights and entitlements for large numbers of people.
Last week, the Union government introduced a bill to amend the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which takes away transgender people’s “right to a self-perceived gender identity” and changes the definition of “transgender person”.
The open letter was written by the All-India Feminist Alliance, an all-India collective of local organizations; and the National Alliance for Justice, Accountability and Rights, a forum of lawyers and attorneys.
Both groups echoed criticism of the bill by the transgender community last week. Criticisms have included that it narrows the definition of transgender people, takes away the right to a self-perceived gender identity and introduces medical scrutiny. She added that it criminalizes the support systems of transgender people and further marginalizes and excludes the most vulnerable.
The groups have called on MPs to ensure the amendment is fully withdrawn in its current form and sent to the existing Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment for a comprehensive review. The committee will consult the transgender, intersex, non-binary and genderqueer communities on the procedural aspects and limitations of the 2019 law and the current amendment, they added.
“We urge that only after the Standing Committee makes its recommendations in the light of such evidence-generating exercises, any attempt at legislative review, towards further strengthening the rights guaranteed under NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) 2014,” the letter said.
Published – 21 March 2026 22:06 IST
