WHO Removes Transgender Identities from List of Disorders: Der Aaye Durast Aaye!

The World Health Organization finally removed transgender identities from its list of diseases and health problems. According to the latest revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), gender identity disorders have been reframed as “gender incongruence” and are now moved under the chapter on “sexual health”, rather than listed under “mental disorders”.

Many nations, including India, use the ICD framework to mandate a psychiatric evaluation to obtain a certificate before the process of medical transition or legal gender change can be initiated. WHO has set a deadline of Jan 1st, 2022, for its participating countries to modify their respective legal and medical systems as per the new ICD. It is not clear yet if and when India will abide by this WHO guideline, and whether the community will continue to require the psychiatric certificate or not.

The Indian transgender community has come a long way from a systemic effort to erase eunuchs from society by the British during colonial times, to the Supreme Court’s NALSA judgment of 2014. However, the community still faces challenges in converting the decision into a legal framework that is non-discriminatory and lives up to the spirit of the landmark decision. The current draft version of the Transgender Persons Bill, prepared by the previous government and pushed through the Lok Sabha hurriedly, is highly regressive, limiting, and incorrect. We have to wait and watch if the newly constituted Lok Sabha will do the right thing and implement the Supreme Court’s judgment both in spirit and in letter.

At Safe Access, we welcome the decision by WHO and stand by our commitment to empowering the LGBTQ+ community to live a healthy life in a safe, non-judgmental, and non-discriminatory society.