Manipur: Transgender community "dissatisfied" with final electoral rolls

Guwahati: The transgender community of Manipur has raised strong objections to the inclusion of only 239 of its members in the northeast state’s final electoral rolls, asserting that this figure significantly under-represents their actual population.

The final electoral rolls, released on Monday by Manipur Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pradeep Kumar Jha, reported a total of 20,26,623 electors, including 10,46,706 females, 9,79,678 males and only 239 individuals identified as third gender or transgender.

Santa Khurai, a transgender activist and Secretary of the All Manipur ‘Nupi Manbi’ (trans women) Association (AMANA), a prominent transgender community organization of the state, emphasised that the adult transgender population in Manipur exceeds 4,000. 

Expressing disbelief at the remarkably low figure, Santa, also a researcher and writer, said, “We are stunned to see the terribly small number of just 239 third-gender voters in the final electoral rolls.”

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A representative from the state election office acknowledged the challenge of identifying the third gender community for inclusion in the rolls but affirmed that corrective measures could be taken to rectify the gender status. 

In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak, AMANA conducted a survey, distributing supporting materials to the transgender community members and identifying 4,000 adult members. Santa acknowledged the likelihood that this figure is underestimated due to many individuals avoiding participation out of fear of social stigma.

To rectify this discrepancy, AMANA plans to engage with the state election office to ensure a more accurate representation of the transgender community in the electoral rolls. 

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Santa pointed out that the failure to involve transgender individuals in the survey and the reluctance of parents to disclose the identities of their transgender children could be contributing factors to the faulty figure.

Santa, who addressed the 48^th United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in 2021, highlighted the importance of addressing issues faced by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer, Asexual (LGBTIQ ) community, extending from democratic access to safe water and sanitation.