In A Landmark Ruling, A Court In India Has Ruled That Trans Women Are Legally Women

In a landmark ruling, a court in India has ruled that trans women are legally women.

This came after a trans woman, Pokala Shabana, filed a case against her in-laws and husband in 2022 for harassing her.

Shabana asked for a dowry under a law that helped protect women from abuse from their husbands and relatives.

But her in-laws had argued that the law didn’t apply to her because she wasn’t legally a woman.

At the time, Indian law defined a woman as someone who could get pregnant.

But on Saturday, June 16, a high court in India ruled that the definition was “completely incorrect and legally unsustainable”, adding it goes against the Indian constitution and amounts to discrimination.

Although the court ultimately dismissed Shabana’s case for a dowry due to lack of evidence, rights groups have still hailed the verdict as a step forward for LGBTQ rights in the country.

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