Beyond The Margins: Assessing The Role of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) In the Socio-Economic Inclusion of Transgender Communities in India

The inclusion of historically marginalised populations into the mainstream is needed for the pursuit of sustainable development. In India, transgender individuals have been facing acute forms of social exclusion and stigma, forcing up to 92% into unregulated and informal livelihoods such as traditional badhai, sex workers and begging. The historic judgment of NALSA v/s Union of India legally recognised transgender persons as a third gender, and in line of this judgment, the Govt of India enacted The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 to safeguard the rights of transgender. This paper evaluates the role of Self-Help Groups (SHG), mainly operationalised through schemes like DAY –NRLM, DAY-NULM and localised state models. The present study is based on secondary data and attempts to examine how participation in SHGs contributes to economic empowerment, livelihood opportunities, social inclusion, collective support systems, and community networking among transgender persons. The paper concludes with policy suggestions to shift the government’s passive welfare attitude to active collective agency.