Laya Vasudevan on the Progress of Transgender Rights in India

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In this podcast, Laya Vasudevan talks to IHRB's Salil Tripathi about the landmark ruling in the Indian Supreme Court in 2014 which gave transgender men and women and hijras (a traditional South Asian transgender community) the legal status of third gender. She discusses how her organisation, Article 39, conducted public hearings across India in preparation for the case. She also discusses details of the ruling, and what companies can do to improve access to, and treatment at, work for transgender people in India. 

Laya is the director of the Delhi-based Centre for Legal Aid and Rights, which works on women's rights, health rights, and access to justice. In 2014, the centre played a major role in the landmark case, NALSA vs. Union of India, which advanced and protected the rights of the transgender community in India. She has also been a member of the expert committee appointed by the Indian Government on transgender rights, and consulted with IDLO on sexual orientation and gender identity in India. Laya has studied in India and the UK, and was a Chevening Human Rights Scholar in the UK in 1999-2000. 

 

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This podcast is part of a mini-series dedicated to the theme of business, equality, and non-discrimination, to mark International Women's Day on 8 March 2018 and International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 21 March 2018.