According to the constitution of Bangladesh, all people are equal. The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, gender, race, and occupation. But in most cases, the reality is quite different. In our country, people of the third gender still face extreme discrimination and inequality. One of the examples is Bangladesh’s inheritance law. It does not permit them to inherit properties from their parents. But the wind of change has started blowing and it’s about time that they get justice against the unreasonable inequality that they face. Today we will discuss everything from the possibility to the future prospects if the property inheritance law for the third gender is passed and implemented.
The barrier
In 2013, the government recognized transgender people as the ‘third gender’. They have also been given the right to vote. But even then their position in our society has not changed much. They are forbidden to do many things and being disrespectful even in their own family. Most transgender people do not have a respectable livelihood. They are living a miserable lifestyle.
BBC Bangla recently published a report on Jaya Sikder, a person of the third gender who has been deprived of his parent’s property due to gender inequality. One of his brothers and two sisters have received a share of the property under the Muslim inheritance law. But when asked what was the barrier in their case, they said, “My father tells me that if you take property from me as a woman or in women’s clothing, society will not accept this.” Sobha Sarkar, who works in Blast’s human rights department for the rights of transgender people, said, people of the third gender gets no right to family property. Brothers and sisters often beat them if they wanted a share of the property. Since there is no property inheritance law for the third gender, many were then forced to give up property claims due to a lack of security.
In Bangladesh, the law of the religion is used to distribute the property among the family members. For Muslims, Muslim Inheritance Act is used to distribute their property. Supreme Court lawyer Tajul Islam said, “The Muslim Inheritance Act speaks of children. Children here means sons and daughters will get a share of the property. The existing law in Bangladesh does not explicitly mention transgender or third gender.”
Prabir Niyogi, a Supreme Court lawyer about the Hindu law, said, “Hindu law does not say anything about transgender children having share over their parent’s property. The matter needs to be discussed.” Both lawyers cited ambiguity in the law as a major problem.
Property Inheritance law for the third gender
On November 9, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina instructed the concerned ministries to work at a cabinet meeting to ensure that people of the third gender get an equal share of their parents’ property. “We are trying to enact a law in accordance with Islamic Sharia law and our constitution,” Law Minister Anisul Haque told AFP. The bill has not yet been introduced in the parliament, but once it is introduced, it is expected to be passed easily.
Bangladesh has taken several initiatives to ensure the rights of third gender citizens. In 2013, they were officially recognized as a separate gender. They have been able to write their names in the voter list as the third gender since last year. And recently, at the beginning of this month, the first madrasa for the third gender has also been started on private initiative.
The potential positive changes we can expect if the inheritance law is passed and implemented
At present, people of the third gender have almost no access to education or employment. The limitations they face in choosing a decent livelihood will be greatly reduced if they could inherit property. This property could pave the way for them to invest or create their own employment opportunity.
However, it is also true that if we do not change our attitude, it won’t be possible to improve the lives of people of the third gender. Therefore, just as it is important to implement such laws, we also need to change our mentality.
