The Centre for Women and the Law, NLSIU, in collaboration with the Feminist Jurisprudence Discussion Group, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, is organising a discussion on “Gender Recognition Beyond the Binary: Comparative Perspectives from India and the UK”.

The session will feature Dr Lena Holzer, University of Cambridge, in conversation with Mihika Poddar, NLSIU, and will be moderated by Mihir Rajamane, University of Oxford.

About the discussion

Recent legal developments in India have brought renewed attention to the recognition of gender identity – the 2026 amendments to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 have raised important questions about self-identification, state regulation of gender identity, and constitutional protections for transgender persons.

Across jurisdictions, developments concerning the legal definition of sex have sparked renewed debates about legal gender recognition and its implications for rights of persons with non-binary gender identities.

The discussion will explore some of these developments through a comparative lens, examining the transformative potential and limitations of legal gender recognition beyond the binary. Drawing on research across India, Pakistan, Germany, and the UK, it will consider how legal systems recognise and regulate gender identity, the relationship between recognition and substantive equality, and possible lessons for legislative and policy reform.

About the participants

Dr. Lena Holzer is an Assistant Professor in Gender, Race and the Law in the Law Faculty at the University of Cambridge and serves as Sheila Lesley Fellow at Girton College. Her research focuses on critical feminist, queer and intersectional approaches to international law with a focus on human rights law and sports law. Prior to joining the University of Cambridge, she worked as a Lecturer in Law at Goldsmiths, University of London, and as Academic Supervisor at the Geneva Graduate Institute. She obtained her PhD in International Law, with a minor degree in International Relations, from the Geneva Graduate Institute and has acted as consultant for several European human rights NGOs aside from her academic work. She is currently working on a book project tracing how international law has played a role in making binary gender categories part of people’s individual legal identity. Another project of hers examines the gendered and racialised nature of international sports regulations and global inequalities in the governance of sports.

Mihir Rajamane is a DPhil candidate in Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford and a Visiting Doctoral Scholar at NLSIU. Their doctoral research examines the legal recognition of gender minorities in South India, with a particular focus on schemes of affirmative action.

Mihika Poddar is an Assistant Professor of Law at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. She is also a DPhil candidate in Law at the University of Oxford, where her research examines the legal recognition of personal identities, including sex/gender and caste.