In a heartening trend, as per the city’s birth registry in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) latest annual report there has been a rise in registration of third gender identities. The number stands at seven in 2023.
There were just two registrations in 2021 and a single case in 2022. Among the factors for low registrations are the stigma surrounding the third gender community. Most of these births were earlier registered as ‘female’. Lack of awareness about the option also plays a role, said AMC sources.
Parents are now slowly feeling a bit more comfortable in registering their children as third gender, ensuring their legal identity aligns with their child’s gender identity.
However, the official number of third gender birth certificates issued to adults after the April 2014 Supreme Court ruling is yet to be ascertained and has not been mentioned in AMC’s annual report.
Number of opportunities
With the registration at birth, transgender individuals have been extended a number of opportunities like scholarships, skill development and training, medical health and access to shelter homes by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment as per the National Portal for Transgender Persons.
Even death certificates can now be issued. The amendments to the form for birth registrations, which came into effect in 2020, read, ‘In form No. 1, appended in the principal rules for entries at serial No. 2, the following shall be substituted, namely, 2: Sex [enter male, female, transgender],” according to a govt notification.
Overall, as per the AMC’s annual report, the number of births in the city is showing signs of recovery after a three-year decline following the pandemic. AMC’s births and deaths report for 2022-23 showed the number of births in the city crossing 1 lakh for the first time since 2019.
Compared to 1.06 lakh births in the financial year ended 2019, there were about 5,000 fewer births in 2023. Experts said the decline was mainly due to pandemic-related stress, family issues, and couples delaying parenthood.
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