3 MPs extend support to transgender denied job as cabin crew in Air India

Parliamentarians such as D Raja (CPI), Tiruchi Siva (DMK) and Manoj Jha (RJD) today extended their support to a tansgender, who had moved the Supreme Court challenging Air India's decision to allegedly deny her a job as a cabin crew.

The three MPs attended a meeting organised by the National Federation of Indian Women to express their solidarity with her cause.

Raja later told PTI that they would be meeting Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu shortly and raise the alleged discrimination being faced by her in getting a job in the airline.

"We are expressing support to her cause and we will meet the minister," he said.

He said that he would raise his voice against the discrimination being faced by transgenders in jobs and other places.

Siva, who had moved a private member bill on trangender rights in December 2014 in Parliament.

"Why should we suffer as transwomen when we also pay taxes like any other citizen in the country," she said.

The Supreme Court had yesterday agreed to hear a plea filed by her for being refused a cabin crew position by Air India owing to her sexual orientation.

Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud said they would hear after two weeks her petition.

In November 2017, the transgender, who had undergone sex change in 2014, had moved the apex court accusing the airline of gender discrimination.

The Supreme Court had issued notices to Air India and the Ministry of Civil Aviation on the matter.

She had said that the airline denied her a cabin crew job though she had cleared the examination.

The airline told her that its recruitment policy did not have a category for transgender people, she had said.