Feminists, lawyers urge MPs to reject ‘unconstitutional’ amendments to transgender Act

On Saturday (March 21, 2026), over 100 members of feminist and lawyer groups wrote an open letter to MPs, appealing to them to reject the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026. They termed it “unconstitutional” as it seeks to introduce “arbitrary and inhumane requirements”, which will make access to fundamental rights and entitlements impossible for a large number of transgender persons. 

Last week, the Union government introduced a Bill to amend the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which takes away the transgender people’s “right to self-perceived gender identity”, and alters the definition of a “transgender person”. 

The open letter was written by All-India Feminist Alliance, a pan-India collective of grassroots organisations; and the National Alliance for Justice, Accountability and Rights, a forum of lawyers and legal professionals. 

The two groups reiterated the criticisms of the Bill made by transgender communities in the past week. The criticisms included that it narrows the definition of transgender people, takes away the right to self-perceived gender identity, and introduces medical gatekeeping. It added that it criminalises transgender people’s support systems, and further marginalises and excludes the most vulnerable. 

The groups have urged MPs to ensure the Amendment Bill in its current form be fully withdrawn, and it be sent to the existing Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment for a comprehensive review. The committee shall consult transgender, intersex, non-binary, and genderqueer communities about the procedural aspects and limitations of the 2019 Act and the current Amendment, they added. 

“We urge that only after the Standing Committee submits its recommendations, in light of such evidence-generating exercises, should there be any attempt at legislative review, towards further strengthening of rights guaranteed under NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) 2014,” the letter said.