A recent petition filed by a women’s group before the Supreme Court of India has challenged the legal recognition of transgender women to be recorded as “females” in official documents. It framed its objections arguing that recognising trans women within legal categories of cis-women potentially affects sex-based reservation, sporting categories, access to women-only spaces and safeguards available to women.

At a time when the transgender movement in India is already struggling with the aftermath of the Transgender Amendment Act 2026 , trans women being recast as a threat to cis-women’s rights has serious real-life implications, especially for those facing multiple layers of vulnerability.…