Mainstreaming Transgender Link - http://www.themalaymailonline.

com/opinion/gauravdaga/article/mainstreaming-transgender The Yogyakarta Principles, also know as Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity was designed to address concerns related to human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and issues of intersexuality, which appears to have been devised with the best of intentions. But just like mulled wine, things, which are made for explicit purposes gets unnoticed. It's depressing, but we live in a society with people who still look at lesbians, gays, bisexuals, or transgenders (LGBT) with contempt and hatred. These people are discriminated everyday on the basis of physical, social, even cultural characteristics, and this bigotry is, to be very clear, quite wrong. For instance, in India, 700,000 transgenders get little or no schooling, their families often reject them, and end up working as sex work or ritualized begging. Furthermore, to protect them no legislation has been passed in countries like India, Indonesia, Malaysia and many others to eliminate such terrible discrimination. Worse, in many African countries where homosexuality is already illegal, more draconian anti-gay laws are being passed and violence against LGBT people is increasing. Seen skeptically, the legislation that many Americans are cheering for can become another hurdle that LGBT job seekers will have to jump in order to find employment. In such complex issues, laws should be carefully designed and Yogyakarta Principles can guide a way to the policy makers. The link between governance and human rights can be organized around three areas: Democracy, service delivery and rule of law. In order to achieve inclusive growth and to be able to make a fair society, these areas should be addressed tout de suite. While trying to address these issues, one needs to understand that marginalized communities like LGBT are very akin to systems theory. Its interactive, complex and dynamic. When the community becomes system, the dynamics of time plays out in maintaining its boundary. Based on the identity, the dimensions of the identity and its interaction become vital in time and space. Ones skin, ones appearance or even ones love gives us dynamism of endless possibilities. And to solve, one cannot apply the same solution everywhere. One is forced to synthesize with the logic of collective action within the system.

In short, to synthesize the system, governments need to start tackling the issue from two ways. First thru citizenship status and second by enabling them to avail educational benefits. One of the countries where LGBT rights are justly recognized is Canada. It has enforced their recognition through constitutional framework. Outstandingly, it has even allowed gays and lesbians to serve openly in military forces too. Where else, in countries like India, were transgender people are easily visible in public places, are to the contrary hardly recognized as citizens by the government. Public goods available to them are limited. However, on the brighter side, Aadhaar, which tries to bridge the gap between effective public service delivery and citizenship, has upheld some success in this case. Talking about educational benefits, one of the best tastes of erudite was seen in 2011, when Massachusetts Transgender Equal Rights Bill was passed in Boston. It made non-discrimination against transgender on the basis of gender identity for educational attainments. This law forced all the schools in the state of Massachusetts to practice recommendations concerning equal and fair treatment, rights and safety of transgender and gender non-conforming youth in K-12 schools.. Such policies are need of the time in developing countries like India, Brazil, China where a huge number of LGBT population resides. In other words, empowerment is needed to elevate them especially transgenders from destitution and provide them a decent lifestyle with entitlements. One need to understand that communities like LGBT command recognition of pluralistic expression in gender that encompasses identities that find space beyond the established binaries of gender. Space in economic, political, social and cultural rights are fundamental for strengthening their freedom. When Yogyakarta principles can be articulated in anti-LGBT country - Indonesia, policymakers need to diagnose that systems are capable of producing result, which are optimal in terms of efficiency and can produce in time.