The Aurangabad Smart City Corporation has agreed to hire transgender people to assist with the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Astik Kumar Pandey, the municipal commissioner, said the civic body was in advanced talks with NGOs and individuals to reach a decision.
Apart from legal recognition, job prospects for citizens of the third gender are scarce. To make ends meet, many are forced to beg on the streets or engage in sex labour. There have been calls for policy action to provide them with long-term job opportunities. Many transgender people were left to starve during the lockdown because other sources of income dried up.
Pandey told a portal that the Aurangabad Smart City Corporation was taking this step to ensure that transgender people were integrated into society and given the opportunity to earn a steady income. He said the company has started talking to NGOs and support organisations to figure out how they can help. He further added, “Such individuals have good power of people control and they can be employed in a role where that can be used.”
According to Pandey, the civic body intends to hire them for the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination campaign. “We need people to manage people when they come for vaccination. Thus, at centres, they can act as marshals and ensure that the process is streamlined,” he explained. The policing of neighbourhoods to enforce mandatory mask use is another area where the civic body hopes to create jobs. “They would counsel and implement compulsory mask use in and around the city,” he said.
Pandey also mentioned that talks with NGOs and individuals were currently underway, and that the office hoped to begin sending out appointment letters as soon as possible. The transgender employees would be hired on a contract basis at first, then integrated into the company based on their performance.
The step was applauded by Varun Sardesai, a public policy researcher and analyst. “Transgender individuals are unfortunately left behind in the path of progress due to societal bias and perception. Our journey towards equality is not complete until our transgender brothers and sisters are brought into the mainstream. There is a need of creating more opportunities so that they can live a dignified life. I urge the Government of Maharashtra to create more jobs for them,” he stated.