Kathmandu : Despite the constitutional guarantee of every citizen’s rights to employment and choose jobs, the sexual and gender minorities have been deprived of job opportunities.

Moreover, they have to experience difficulties, discrimination and criticism everywhere for what they are even if they get a job, leading them to quit submitting to such ill-treatment. How the society still perceives the communities is blamed for this.

The government has launched the Prime Minister Employment Programme across the country to keep up with the constitutional guarantee of people’s the right to employment. Under the programme, the total 885,154 people have been registered so far.

Registered women have outnumbered men (384,708 men and 500,356 women), said the programme. Of them, only 90 have been registered under ‘other’ category.

So far in the current fiscal year, 2023/24, 1,398 people have engaged in employment opportunities, and received the payments, according to the statistics released by the programme. Seven hundred thirty eight local levels are accepting the registration of unemployed people, and the programme has been launched in 343 others.

The regulations have the provision that unemployed citizens are enlisted at their respective local level. However, the programme has not prioritised unemployed sexual and gender minorities, they have complained.

Employment expert Yubaraj Basnet said the poor have been given the first priority under the programme. “The sexual and gender minorities are not mentioned in the regulations and procedure.

Only economically weak, poor, and minorities have been mentioned,” he said, adding, “The unemployed people should register at their respective local level. It may be difficult for them (the sexual and gender minorities) to register at their respective ward.”

2,000 jobs for sexual minorities in five years

Over 2,000 third gender people have got job opportunities under the programme since its launch five years ago, informed Basnet. There was no gender-based discrimination as every citizen has the right to employment, he said. However, the regulations have prohibited job opportunities at the place of residence, he said.

An environment conducive has been created in the society where the sexual and gender minorities can open up, he maintained. But they are still struggling to participate in any government job programmes based on their gender identity, they have complained.

Clause 43 of the Constitution has guaranteed the sexual and gender minorities the right to inclusive proportional representation in every state body. However, it has not been implemented yet. The sexual and gender minority people are not even accepted as employees by the private sector. The Labour Act has also not addressed the issue.

Sunil Babu Pant, former Asia’s first gay parliamentarian and the chief advisor to MayakoPahichan Nepal, a non-governmental organisation working for the rights of the sexual and gender minorities, said the existing situation in our society is that people from the communities get fired based on their gender identity even they get a job.

“The Prime Minister Employment Programme has not covered the communities yet. How can these communities miss out on such a big national programme? Pant said. “They are also the sexual and gender minorities that should benefit from this programme.”

Being effortful, he reached the office of the Prime Minister Employment Programme to discuss a solution. The sexual and gender minority people can opt for ‘respectable’ professions if they are given opportunities to get government jobs. “Practically, there should be a programme that benefits these communities as well,” he said.

The communities have not been ensured the right to job, even though they have got the right to show their identity, he said. “Most of the sexual and gender minorities have left the villages and settled in cities because they thought it would be easy for them to open in city areas,” he said, adding, “Most of them are in Kathmandu. But they lack job opportunities making it difficult for them to make a living.”

Joint secretary of the programme, Naresh Raj Kharel said everyone has the right to be listed for job opportunities. “Under this programme, no gender-based discrimination has taken place. They have probably not got detailed information about it,” he said.

“Tell if there are any problems, the procedure is being changed. The amendment of the law is not possible immediately. If the sexual and gender minorities are missing out on the selection process, we will accommodate them while making the procedure.”