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Transgender traffic police get the green light in India’s Telangana state

Activists cautiously welcome the move – but call for broader support and sustainable job opportunities for all transgender people

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Indian commuters wait in a traffic jam. The Telangana initiative aims to provide both employment opportunities and effective traffic management. Photo: AFP
In a groundbreaking move for social welfare in India, the southern state of Telangana has announced a plan to recruit transgender people as volunteer traffic police. The initiative, hailed as a first in the country, aims to provide both employment opportunities and effective traffic management.

The government has proposed offering a stipend to these transgender traffic regulators, with the details still in the works. As one of the most marginalised groups in a largely conservative society, transgender individuals are often forced to sustain themselves by begging at traffic lights or seeking handouts from motorists.

Revanth Reddy, chief minister of Telangana, has tasked senior traffic authorities with gauging the willingness of the transgender community to take on this role, viewing it as a dual solution to employment and traffic regulation.

“It is the best example of creative and lateral thinking in governance,” the minister’s office said in a statement, highlighting the potential for impactful change.

The plan includes training for around 3,000 transgender individuals over 10 days, equipping them with specially designed uniforms. In the coming months, about 1,000 are set to be deployed in the state capital of Hyderabad, though they will be expected to work as contractual employees with limited authority to penalise traffic violations.

Tentative designs for the uniforms of to be worn by volunteer transgender traffic police in Telangana. Photo: Handout
Tentative designs for the uniforms of to be worn by volunteer transgender traffic police in Telangana. Photo: Handout

Support for the initiative is tempered with caution from trans rights activists, who emphasise the need for careful planning.

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