CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2018
| Author | Ghosh, Debjyoti |
|---|---|
| Title | INVISIBLE CITIZENS - Transgender Bodies and the Right to Health in India, Brazil and South Africa |
| Summary | India, Brazil and South Africa are generally acknowledged as three rising forces of the Global South. Connected with a common history of colonialism and exploitation, the constitutions of the three countries set out to right historic wrongs. Yet, despite best intentions, some minorities, primarily those who are especially marginalised for their non-conformity in a heteronormative society, have often fallen through the sieve. In all three countries, such individuals have articulated movements and given rise to an indigenous vocabulary to represent their identities. Despite such movements, the medico-legal systems still lag and are not as inclusive as they need to be in order to make exercising their citizenship and accessing rights straightforward. One particular right that I focus on is the right to health. While on the face of it, it seems to be a socio-economic right, it is heavily connected to various civil and political rights, primarily the right to life. Thus, it gives the scope of checking the exercising of citizenship against its various components, and to see the (dys)functionality of the systems. Being intrinsic to human rights, the right to health has to be facilitated by the State for citizens to be able to exercise such a right. However, what does citizenship mean for such a person from a marginalised minority? How does such a person exercise their citizenship, being an unequal citizen, when it comes to accessing rights? This work aims at tying together the exercising of the right to health in India, Brazil and South Africa by transgender people, thus showcasing their navigating their citizenship in systems fraught with legal ambiguities, lacunae and stigma. In order to aid my work, I delve into international and domestic legislation and jurisprudence. For further information, I carried out qualitative interviews with primary and secondary stakeholders in all three countries. |
| Supervisor | Sandor, Judit |
| Department | Legal Studies PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2018/ghosh_debjyoti.pdf |
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