Govt asks dept to include ‘transgender' in gender category
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This directive was communicated through a letter from the department of social security and empowerment of persons with disabilities (SSEPD).
The letter, penned by SSEPD secretary RS Gopalan, emphasises the importance of non-discrimination against transgender persons in employment, as outlined in the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. Gopalan highlighted the need for all relevant examination rules to be updated to align with the Act's provisions, ensuring that transgender individuals are recognised as a separate category in recruitment processes.
"All departments of the Government of Odisha are requested to modify the relevant examination rules to include 'Transgender' as a separate gender category in application forms for state govt posts," the letter states. It further instructs that any form or application, whether online or in hard copy, must provide an option for applicants to identify as transgender.
The SSEPD department has requested that all departments report back on the actions taken to implement these changes. The transgender community has welcomed the decision of the govt. "It is a fight for over 30 years. It is a great win for the transgender community. We thanked the govt for this historic decision," Meghna Sahoo, a member of the transgender community, said.
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