DCW chief seeks intervention of central, Delhi govts for providing free sex reassignment surgeries

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal has sought the intervention of the central and Delhi governments for providing free sex reassignment surgeries in government hospitals in the national capital, the panel said.

She has written to health secretaries of both the Centre and the Delhi government, and sought an Action Taken Report (ATR) from them, it said.

The DCW had recently established a Transgender Cell to look into the complaints of violence, abuse, harassment and discrimination against the transgender community, the panel said.

After several rounds of community meetings, the most common issue that was brought to the commission's notice was the lack of government-sponsored sex reassignment surgeries (SRS) in Delhi.

It was informed that the facility was available in only a few hospitals in the capital, the panel said.

The DCW had issued a notice to Delhi and central governments in the matter and sought details of the hospitals providing sex reassignment surgeries in the national capital.

In its reply, the Delhi government said that sex reassignment surgeries were not being conducted in any of its hospitals, while the Centre informed that such surgeries were only conducted in one hospital in Delhi -- RML Hospital.

Maliwal wrote to the health secretaries of the Delhi government and the Centre requesting them to start providing free sex reassignment surgeries in their hospitals, it said.