Protest in Hyderabad calls for withdrawal of proposed Transgender Amendment Bill

Protesters in Hyderabad demand the withdrawal of the controversial Transgender Amendment Bill, emphasizing rights and dignity for transgender individuals.

A protest was held at Dharna Chowk in Hyderabad on Sunday against the proposed Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, with demonstrators demanding its immediate withdrawal. Raising slogans such as ‘Our Body – Our Rights’, participants called the Bill inhumane and a violation of fundamental rights.

Addressing the gathering, advocate G. Kiran Raj said gender identity is a deeply personal experience that cannot be decided by external authorities. He explained that transgender persons often feel a mismatch between their assigned sex at birth and their lived identity from an early age. Transmen activist Surya Raj Yadav also expressed concern, saying that forcing individuals to undergo scrutiny by medical boards to validate their gender identity undermines their dignity, privacy and right to self-determination.

Another speaker, Chandramukhi, called for explicit inclusion of transmen in the proposed amendment and condemned provisions that allegedly portray the Hijra community as criminal.