Bangladesh has a total of 12,629 transgender people, according to the latest national census report. These people often face discrimination and violence, with some forced to survive by begging or working in the sex trade. The members of transgender communities in the country are mostly considered a burden on society. They live on others' mercy. Some of them also harass people by extorting money. The third gender people are living a life detached from the mainstream society. In most cases, they are abandoned by their own families. There is no clear explanation of their inheritance system in our country. So, family members are depriving them of their ancestral property. Confusion over their rights to own property, rights to adopt a child and rights to marry should be removed.
We cannot expect them to lead a normal life without confirmation of these rights. It is unfortunate that only a few steps have been taken so far to ensure their rights. These third gender people can make a huge contribution to our economy if we create a congenial environment for them. We should ensure all the civil rights and opportunities for the members of transgender communities across the country.
Ashikujaman Syed,
Research Assistant,
Bioinformatics Research Lab,
Center for Research Innovation and Development (CRID),
syedashikujaman@yahoo.com