After she came out as transgender in August 2021, Nandini Sabban, a former field mobiliser with the Humsafar Trust, quickly got down to applying for an identity card. It was a priority task on her agenda. The certificate, says Sabban, would open doors to education, social welfare schemes, health, employment, bank accounts and housing. 

In 2020, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment set up the National Portal for Transgenders, which allows trans persons to get the Transgender Certificate and Identity Card as per their self-perceived identity. According to the rules, any transgender person can apply for these to the District Collector in whose jurisdiction s/he has been residing for at least one year. “On October 20, 2021, I sent the application with five others. Seven days later, we had our cards,” says Sabban. While the 23-year-old had it fairly smooth, not everybody in the community can attest to the same.