Short vita
Shruti Sharma holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from Guru Nanak Dev University. She has worked for various libertarian think tanks voluntarily for a period of 3 years. She takes interest in Austrian Economics and Individual Liberty. She is currently working on a European Union project titled ‘Enabling accountable and transparent governance in Mumbai and Delhi’. She also works on other human rights project in South Asia.
Contributions
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Right to Information
The first Right to Information (RTI) law was enacted by Sweden in 1766 to access the information held by the king, following which 121 countries have adopted their own comprehensive RTI laws. 90% of the world’s population now has access to an RTI law or policy. Several international human rights instruments, like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, recognize the importance of Access to Information.
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Right to Information: A tool to combat disinformation
India passed the Right to Information (RTI) Act in 2005 which gave the hope of transparency and accountability to its citizens. Since its adoption more than a decade ago, the act has helped in highlighting several frauds and enabled citizens to hold government and public authorities accountable for their actions. However, over time the essence of the RTI Act has been systematically eroded.
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Seven Decades since Independence and Still Fighting for Equality
Until 2014, transgender people in India were bereft of any legal recognition or rights. In 2014, the Supreme Court of India through the NALSA judgment paved the way for enshrining the rights of transgender individuals in the law. They could self-identify as ‘third gender’. The judgment also declared that transgender people be granted fundamental rights and certain reservations in education and employment opportunities.
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It still takes courage to say out loud ‘I’m in a same-sex relationship’
This piece traces the status of rights granted with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity in various South Asian countries. Most South Asian countries are now showing progress in guaranteeing peoples’ sexual orientation and gender identity (expression) (SOGI(E)) rights. But the societal attitudes towards sexual and gender non-conforming people have not changed.
