WE are heartened to note that the government is taking active steps to integrate the marginalised transgender community into mainstream society. According to a Daily Star report, the Prime Minister's Office has instructed the social welfare ministry to rehabilitate this community, beginning with offering them various service-oriented jobs, including in the police. 

This is undoubtedly a welcome move by the government, as currently a majority of the transgender community do not have access to regular employment. Shunned by society and discriminated against by state and non-state institutions, they often have no option but to make a living from seeking donations, sometimes aggressively. Giving them skills-development training and creating employment opportunities for them in different sectors, particularly in the police, would go a long way, we hope, towards incorporating them in the formal economy and enable them to lead a dignified life. In addition, it would help in changing people's discriminatory mindsets regarding the transgender community, and begin a much-needed conversation about the cruel way we treat people we find different. 

The government has undertaken a few positive initiatives over the years to address the discrimination faced by this community, including recognising hijras as the third gender. In the current fiscal year, the government allocated Tk. 4.5 crore for distribution among members of the community in 21 districts. However, the distribution of meagre allowance would not significantly improve the plight of a historically marginalised community. Measures must be taken at the policymaking and societal levels to change the root causes of their deprivation and discrimination.