Course Glossary

The formal institutionalization of the discipline received a massive impetus from a landmark document: the Towards Equality report published by the Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI) in 1974. Termed the "Magna Carta of Indian feminism" by legal scholar Flavia Agnes (2004), the report crucially exposed how state-led development frameworks systematically erased women's labour, particularly their unpaid contributions within the household and their crucial role in subsistence agriculture.

A person who does not identify with the sex assigned to them at birth. Originally from the Latin for ‘on the other side’ (trans), the opposite of cisgender, derived from ‘on the same side’ (cis).

An individual whose gender identity does not align with the sex assigned to them at birth. Transgender people are those who self-identify as male, female, both, neither, or in other ways that differ from traditional gender norms. This identity is not dependent on medical procedures or physical appearance.

A law in India that protects the rights of transgender persons. (Protection of Rights) It prohibits discrimination in education, employment, Act, 2019 healthcare, and access to public spaces. The Act also recognizes the right to self-perceived gender identity and provides for a certificate of identity issued by the government.