Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Tamil Nadu are the most progressive among all states of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

was the first state in India to introduce a transgender welfare policy, wherein transgender individuals can access free gender affirmation surgery in government hospitals and various other benefits and rights. The state was also the first to ban forced sex-selective surgeries on intersex infants, and also the first state to include an amendment in its state police guidelines that expects officers to abstain from harassing the LGBTQIA+ community and its members. The state also became the first to ban

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...

and the first to introduce LGBTQIA+ issues in school curricula. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 2018, following the Supreme Court ruling in ''

Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice (2018) is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India that decriminalised all consensual sex among adults, including homosexual sex. The court was asked to dete ...

''. Tamil Nadu is noted as one of the most open states with regards to the LGBT community, particularly transgender people. Nevertheless, reports of discrimination, arranged opposite-sex marriages, bullying, suicides, and family rejections are common. According to an estimate from 2015, about 16,380 people in Tamil Nadu identified themselves as

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

Legality of same-sex sexual activity

On 6 September 2018, the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

unanimously struck down Section 377 as unconstitutional, ruling that it infringed on the fundamental rights of autonomy, intimacy, and identity, thus legalising homosexuality in India, including in Tamil Nadu.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

s are not recognised or performed in Tamil Nadu. On 22 April 2019, the Madras High Court, the high court of

, ruled that the term "bride" under the ''

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 The Hindu Marriage Act is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1955 which was passed on 18th of May. Three other important acts were also enacted as part of the Hindu Code Bills during this time: the Hindu Succession Act (1956), the Hind ...

'' includes trans women. Specifically, it directed the authorities to register a marriage between a man and a transgender woman.

Discrimination protections

In line with ''

'' and '' National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India'', discrimination on the basis of

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

and

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

is prohibited via Article 15 of the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...

. However, this article only extends to discrimination by state or government bodies. Adopted in 2019, the '' Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019'' bans unfair discrimination against transgender people in educational establishment and services, employment, healthcare services, access to the "use of any goods, accommodation, service, facility, benefit, privilege or opportunity dedicated to the use of the general public or customarily available to the public", the right to movement, the right to "reside, purchase, rent or otherwise occupy any property", the opportunity to stand for or hold public or private office, and in government or private establishments. In June 2021, a single judge bench of the Madras High Court on Monday issued far-reaching guidelines aimed at mainstreaming LGBTQIA+ persons - from prohibiting attempts to “medically cure” persons belonging to the community to seeking changes in school and university curricula and recommending awareness programmes for judicial officers, police and prison officials. Saying LGBTQIA+ persons are entitled to their privacy and “have a right to lead a dignified existence, which includes their choice of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender presentation, gender expression and choice of partner thereof”, the court said, “This right and the manner of its exercise are constitutionally protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.”

Transgender rights

Transgender people in Tamil Nadu are called ''thirunar'' ( ta, திருனர்), specifically ''thirunangai'' (திருநங்கை; for transgender women) and ''thirunambi'' (திருநம்பி; for transgender men). The term ''aravaani'' (அரவாணி) in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

was widely popularised before the 1990s. ''Aravaani'' is a substitute term for '' hijra''. Transgender Tamils are often discriminated against in jobs and daily life, forcing them to resort to begging and

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

. In 1994, T.N. Seshan, the Chief Election Commissioner, granted voting rights to transgender people in India. In March 2004, advocate G.R Swaminathan appeared before the Madras High Court demanding voter identity cards for transgender people in Tamil Nadu. Responding to the case, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Government informed the court that only 11 transgender people in the state had come forward to register their names in the electoral roll. After recording the submission, the court directed the State Government to publicise, through the media, the right of transgender people to get enrolled as voters. In December 2006, a government order was passed with the recommendations to improve living conditions for transgender people. The order favoured counseling as a means to deter families from disowning transgender people and making sure that such children get admitted in schools and colleges. Thereafter, in September 2008, the state constituted a welfare board for transgender people. In a pioneering effort to solve the problems faced by transgender people, the

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

established a transgender welfare board in 2008. The Social Welfare Minister serves as the president of the board. This effort is touted to be the first in India. The State Government has also started issuing separate food

ration card Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...

s for

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

people, as well as special identity cards. The state of Tamil Nadu was the first state to introduce a transgender welfare policy. According to the policy, transgender people can access free sex reassignment surgery in government hospitals, free housing, various citizenship documents, admission in government colleges with a full scholarship for higher studies and initiating income-generation programmes (IGP). In an additional effort to improve the education of transgender people, Tamil Nadu authorities issued an order in May 2008 to create a "

third gender Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usually ...

" option for admissions to government colleges. In 2017, the

Manonmaniam Sundaranar University Manonmaniam Sundaranar University is a university in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was hived off the Madurai Kamaraj University on 7 September 1990. The motto of the university is "In Pursuit of Excellence". It is named after the Tamil sc ...

began offering free tuition to transgender students. In 2013, transgender and gender activists S. Swapna and

Gopi Shankar Madurai Gopi Shankar Madurai, born 13 April 1991, is an Indian equal rights and Indigenous rights activist. Shankar was one of the youngest, and the first openly intersex and genderqueer statutory authority and one of the candidates to contest in 201 ...

from

Srishti Madurai Srishti Madurai was established on 2 September 2011 by Gopi Shankar Madurai as the first genderqueer and LGBT student volunteer group designed to target the problems of LGBT people in non-metro cities of Tamil Nadu. In October 2011 Srishti Mad ...

staged a protest in the

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

collectorate on 7 October 2013 demanding reservation and to permit alternate genders to appear for examinations conducted by the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission, the

Union Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (ISO: ), commonly abbreviated as UPSC, is India's premier central recruitment agency for recruitment of all the Group 'A' officers under Government of India. It is responsible for appointments to and exami ...

, the

Secondary School Certificate The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC), Matriculation examination, is a public examination in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan conducted by educational boards for the successful completion of the seco ...

and Bank exams. Swapna, incidentally, had successfully moved the

Madras High Court The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...

in 2013 seeking permission to write the TNPSC Group II exam as a female candidate. Swapna is the first transgender person to clear TNPSC Group IV exams. Along with 21 other

trans women A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...

, K. Prithika Yashini received appointment orders from Chennai City Police Commissioner Smith Saran in April 2017. Pursuant to a judgement of the Madras High Court on 6 November 2015, directions were given to the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB) to appoint Yashini as a sub-inspector of police as she is "entitled to get the job". The judgement further directed the TNUSRB to include transgender people as a "third category", apart from the usual category of "male" and "female". On 22 April 2019, the Madras High Court Justice G.R. Swaminathan issued a landmark judgment upholding the marriage rights of transgender women under the ''

'', In August 2020 the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment appointed Gopi Shankar Madurai as the South Regional representative in the National Council for Transgender Persons.

Intersex rights

On 22 April 2019, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court passed a verdict to ban sex-selective surgeries on

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...

infants. Based on the works of

, the Court took note of the rampant practice of compulsory medical interventions performed on intersex infants and children. The Court also expressed its gratitude to Shankar, noting that Shankar's work has had been a "humbling and enlightening experience for the Court". In July 2019, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar announced that guidelines complying with the court ruling and banning medical interventions on intersex infants would be drafted. On 13 August 2019, the Government of Tamil Nadu issued a government order to ban forced medical interventions on intersex infants.

Living conditions

Groups and organisations

Various LGBT organisations have been established over the years in Tamil Nadu. These include Nirangal ( ta, நிறங்கள்),

Orinam Orinam (Tamil: ஓரினம்) is a non-funded, social, and activist collective that works to enhance understanding of alternate sexualities and gender identities among families, communities and society. It was founded in 2003 in Chennai un ...

( ta, ஓரினம்),

(சிருஷ்டி மதுரை), the Sahodari Foundation (சகோதரி) and Chennai Dost (சென்னை தோஸ்த்). These associations raise awareness of LGBT people, offer helplines to both LGBT people and family and friends, and campaign for sensitisation concerning education and workplace policies, among others.

Chennai Rainbow Pride The Chennai Rainbow Pride March has been held by members of Tamil Nadu LGBTIQA+ communities every June since 2009. The pride march is organised under the banner Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition (earlier under the banner Chennai Rainbow Coalition unti ...

(சென்னை வானவில் விழா) has been held annually in the city of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

since 2009.

Helpline and other services

In February 2009, the first lesbian phone helpline was launched by the Indian Community Welfare Organization (ICWO) following the high-profile suicide of a lesbian couple in

. Similarly, in March 2009, a telephone helpline called "Manasu" was set up by the Tamil Nadu AIDS Initiative-Voluntary Health Services.

launched a helpline for LGBT people on 2 October 2011 in the city of Madurai. In June 2013, the helpline turned to offer service for 24 hours with a tagline "Just having someone understanding to talk to can save a life".

Culture, media and television

Ardhanarishvara The Ardhanarishvara ( sa, अर्धनारीश्वर, Ardhanārīśvara, the half-female Lord, translit-std=IAST), is a form of the Hindu deity Shiva combined with his consort Parvati. Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half-male and half ...

, an androgynous composite form of male deity

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

and female deity

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

, originated in

Kushan The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...

culture as far back as the first century CE. A statue depicting Ardhanarishvara is included in India's Meenkashi Temple; this statue clearly shows both male and female bodily elements. ''Thirunar'' (Indigenous Gendervariants) meet in Koovagam, a village in Villupuram district, in the

month of Chitrai (April/May) for an annual festival which takes place for fifteen days. During this festival, the participants worship

Aravan Aravan may refer to: *Aravan, Kyrgyzstan, a large village in Osh Region, Kyrgyzstan *Aravan District, a district of Osh Region, Kyrgyzstan *Aravan or Aravansay, a river in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan *Aravan (legendary), a legendary ruler of 5th cent ...

and are married to him by temple priests, thus reenacting an ancient myth of Lord

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

who married him after taking the form of a woman named Mohini. The following days, dressed in white sarees, they mourn his death though ritual dances. In a monumental push in breaking taboos, the Tamil cable channel STAR Vijay started a talk show in 2008 hosted by a

trans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...

named

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

. The programme is called ''

Ippadikku Rose ''Ippadikku Rose'' is a 2008 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language talk show aired on Vijay TV. The show hosted by Rose (TV personality), Rose. The talk show deals with current affairs touching a wide variety of social issues including traditio ...

'', translated into "Yours Truly, Rose".

Karpaga Karpaga is an actress who made her debut in a Tamil movie called ''Paal''. She is the first trans person ever in India to perform a leading role in a mainstream movie. Personal life Karpaga was born in a middle-class family of Erode in western T ...

, a transgender person born in Erode, performed a lead role in the Tamil movie ''Paal''; the first transgender person in India to achieve such a milestone. Kalki Subramaniam, a transgender person from Pollachi, performed a lead role in the Tamil movie '' Narthagi''. Transgender activist

A. Revathi A Revathi is a Bangalore-based writer and activist working for the rights of sexual minorities. She is a trans woman and belongs to the Hijra community. Personal life Revathi was born as Doraiswamy in the district of Namakkal in the Indian stat ...

played a role in the 2008 Tamil film ''

Thenavattu ''Thenavattu'' () is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by V. V. Kathir, starring Jiiva and Poonam Bajwa, whilst Ganja Karuppu, Ravi Kale, Shafi, Saikumar, and Rajan P. Dev play pivotal roles. The music was composed by ...

''.

LGBT literature and studies

''Vaadamalli'' by novelist Su. Samuthiram is the first

novel about the local '' aravani'' community in Tamil Nadu, published in 1994. Transgender activist

became the first '' hijra'' to write about transgender issues and gender politics in Tamil. Her works have been translated into more than eight languages and act as a primary resource on gender studies in Asia. Her book is part of a research project for more than 100 universities. She is the author of ''Unarvum Uruvamum'' ("Feelings of the Entire Body"), the first of its kind in English from a member of the ''hijra'' community. She also acted and directed several stage plays on gender and sexuality issues in Tamil and

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

. ''The Truth about Me: A Hijra Life Story'' by A. Revathi is part of the syllabus for final year students of

The American College in Madurai The American College, often referred to as American College, is one of the oldest colleges in India, located in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded in 1881 by American Christian missionaries. The red-brick buildings, in the Saracenic style, ...

. The American College is the first college in India to introduce

literature and studies with research-oriented seminars. Naan Saravanan's ''Alla'' (2007) and Vidya's ''I Am Vidya'' (2008) were among early transwoman autobiographies.

Kalki Subramaniam Kalki Subramaniam is a transgender rights activist, artist, actress, writer, inspirational speaker and entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu. Early life Kalki was born in Pollachi, a town in Tamil Nadu. Born into a working-class family, Kalki was an ...

's '' Kuri Aruthean'' ("Phallus, I cut") is a collection of Tamil poems about transgender lives. The American College in Madurai also introduced ''Maraikappatta Pakkangal'' ("Hidden Pages") as a course book for "Genderqueer and Intersex Human Rights studies" as part of the curriculum for Tamil and English department students in 2018. It is the first book on the LGBT community in the Tamil language, launched by

and state BJP leader Vanathi Srinivasan in 2014. In January 2018, Vidupattavai (விடுபட்டவை) was released at the 41st Chennai Book Fair. The book chronicles the life of a gay man in Chennai in the form of short stories, essays, poems and critiques. The book was co-published by Queer Chennai Chronicles and Karuppu Pradhigal. It was released by Tamil writer and actor Shobasakthi.

Notable Tamil LGBT people

* C. Devi – first transgender woman in Tamil Nadu to contest in the Assembly elections * K. Gunavathi – first transgender nurse in Tamil Nadu *

– transgender actor * Maya Jafer – transgender activist and doctor *

Narthaki Nataraj Narthaki Nataraj is an Indian transwoman Bharatanatyam dancer. In 2019, she was awarded the Padma Shri, making her the first transgender woman to be awarded India's fourth-highest civilian award. Early life Narthaki Nataraj was born in Madurai ...

– first transgender woman to receive the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

and the first transgender person to be awarded

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

India's fourth-highest civilian award * Padmini Prakash – first transgender news reader *

– transgender writer and activist * Malini Jeevarathnam - An award-winning queer filmmaker, producer, actor, show host and activist. *

– youngest candidate in the

2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election The Fifteenth Legislative Assembly Election was held on 16 May 2016 for the 232 seats (except Thanjavur and Aravakurichi for which held on 26 October 2016) of the Legislative Assembly in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. AIADMK under J. Jayal ...

and also the first openly

and

genderqueer Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

person to run for public office *

Living Smile Vidya Living Smile Vidya, or Smiley, is an Indian trans woman actor, assistant director, writer, and trans and Dalit rights activist from Chennai. Early life She described her family as belonging to the Arunthatiyar caste in Andhra Pradesh, migrat ...

– Tamil writer, artist and actor *

– openly transgender entrepreneur and founder of the Sahodari Foundation *

Grace Banu Grace Banu is an Indian software engineer who is a Dalit and transgender activist. She was the first transgender person to be admitted to an engineering college in the state of Tamil Nadu. She lives in the Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu. Earl ...

– first transgender person to be admitted to an engineering college in the state of Tamil Nadu *

Esther Bharathi Pastor Esther Bharathi is India's first transgender pastor from the Evangelical Church of India (ECI) branch in Chengalpattu, India. She goes by Pastor Bharathi. Early life Pastor Esther Bharathi was born in Tuticorn as the third child and first ...

– first transgender pastor * Dr. Sudha – first transgender person to receive an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

in 2014 * S. Swapna – first transgender

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

aspirant * Rose Venkatesan – first transgender woman TV host in Tamil Nadu * K. Prithika Yashini – first transgender woman sub-inspector of the Tamil Nadu police * Dr.

Meena Kandasamy Ilavenil Meena Kandasamy (born 1984) is an Indian poet, fiction writer, translator and activist from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Meena published two collections of poetry, ''Touch'' (2006) and ''Ms. Militancy'' (2010). From 2001-2002, she edi ...

– Bisexual poet, fiction writer, translator and activist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transgender Rights In Tamil Nadu

LGBT rights in India LGBT rights by country subdivision Tamil Nadu