The Gujarat High Court recently issued notice to the Central and State governments on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking separate toilets for transgender persons in Gujarat.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice AJ Desai and Justice Biren Vaishnav asked the authorities to respond to the plea by June 16, 2023.
Appearing for the petitioner (Dr Sneha Trivedi), a physiotherapist, Advocate Vilav Bhatia informed the bench that while there are public toilets either for male or female, but there is not a single toilet in Gujarat for the transgender persons, who constitute the third gender community.
Trivedi stated in her petition that every human being, regardless of gender, has some basic human rights, one of which is the ability to use separate public toilets.
It is not fundamentally or morally judicious or correct to ask one gender to use a public restroom designed for the other, she argued.
The petition also stated that in NALSA vs Union of India, the Supreme Court recognized transgender people as the third gender in our country, entitling them to equal rights and treatment.
In the NALSA judgment, the top court had ordered the Central government and the States to take appropriate steps to provide transgender people with medical care in hospitals and separate public toilets.
“The transgender, male and female, feel certain amount of uncomfortableness and hesitation when the third gender person uses the washrooms meant for male or female. So as a human, every individual deserves a safe and healthy environment while utilising washrooms for their basic necessities. When the third gender uses a washroom meant for other genders, their right to privacy is violated,” the plea stated.
The petitioner also stated that because there are no separate public toilets for transgender people, they are forced to use men’s restrooms, where they are vulnerable to sexual assault and harassment.
The petitioner urged the government and society to take steps to create a more inclusive and accepting environment for transgender people in India.
