The South Asian Lesbian & Gay Association of New York City (SALGA) serves to promote awareness, tolerance, acceptance, empowerment and safe spaces for sexual minorities and people of all gender identities, who trace their heritage to South Asia or who identify as South Asian. Our mission is to enable community members to establish cultural visibility and take a stand against oppression and discrimination in all its forms.  We pledge to encourage leadership development, provide multi-generational support, work towards immigration advocacy, address health issues such as HIV / AIDS, and foster political involvement in the interest of creating a more tolerant society.

Punjab, Haryana categorise eunuchs as male for govt jobs

Posted: April 2nd, 2010 | Author: lkalasapudi | Filed under: Blog | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »
Deccan Herald

4/1/2010

After Punjab and Haryana governments submitting to treat eunuchs in the category of male for the purpose of employment, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has now asked the Central government to clarify its stand on the issue.
A month after Punjab told the court that it would treat eunuchs as male, the Haryana government has also told the court that third gender would be treated in the male category for government recruitment. For the record, there is no national policy on categorisation of eunuchs.

Haryana and Punjab are probably the first states in the country to explicitly state this categorisation. The matter of ‘discrimination’ in jobs to eunuchs was raised through a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the court by a city resident, Kajal Mangal Mukhi, who described herself as eunuch.

Punjab creates ‘transgender’ job category for eunuchs

Posted: February 16th, 2010 | Author: Deen | Filed under: Blog | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »

Fri, Feb 12 04:26 AM

The Punjab government has decided to create a separate category in application forms under which eunuchs can apply for government vacancies.

Although there was no bar on eunuchs to apply for government jobs, this is the first time the state has given them an option to choose their identity apart from the men and women categories.

Eunuchs aspiring for government jobs can now choose the new category — “transgender” — in application forms. But eventually those selected will be considered in the category of men, officials said.

The decision was taken on Wednesday at a meeting attended by Chief Secretary S C Aggarwal, Home Secretary A R Talwar and Punjab’s Additional Advocate General Rupinder S Khosla.

“The decision has been taken to pave way for eunuchs so that they can also be considered for government jobs. After all, they are also human beings,” Khosla told The Indian Express. “The decision to consider them in the category of men was taken as considering them in the category of women will not be a prudent keeping in view public sensitivities.”

He added that though the sex determination of a eunuch — whether male or female — was ruled out because of the costs involved. “It will be an expensive affair as each detection costs around Rs 2,500. Thus, in order to avoid undue burden on the state exchequer, the Punjab government has decided to keep them in the category of men,” Khosla added.

Appreciating the stand taken by the Punjab government, a division bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh directed Haryana to clear its stand keeping in view the decision taken by the Punjab government. The Central government has also been asked to clarify whether eunuchs shall be considered in male or female category.

The development took place during the resumed hearing of a PIL filed by Kajal Mangal Mukhi, a eunuch who is an advocate by profession. Mukhi had sought directions for the states to allow eunuchs to join government services.

(link to full article on yahoo news)

Pakistan SC orders equal benefits for transvestites

Posted: July 16th, 2009 | Author: NB | Filed under: Blog | Tags: , , , , | No Comments »

By Nasir Iqbal
Wednesday, 15 Jul, 2009 | 09:00 AM PST |
SOURCE:  Dawn

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has ordered that transvestites, being equal citizens of Pakistan, should also benefit from the federal and provincial governments’ financial support schemes such as the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

‘They are citizens of Pakistan and enjoy the same protection guaranteed under Article four (rights of individuals to be dealt with in accordance of law) and Article nine (security of person) of the Constitution,’ ruled a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali and Justice Jawwad S Khawaja on Tuesday.

The bench had taken up the petition seeking establishment of a commission to emancipate effeminate men ostracised by the society for no fault of theirs.

Islamic jurist Dr Mohammad Aslam Khaki, who researched on the conditions of the ignominious merrymakers and discovered them to be the most oppressed and deprived segment of the society and subjected to humiliation and molestation, had filed the petition for the welfare of the transvestites left by the society to live by begging, dancing and prostitution.

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