Tag: Transgenders In India

Jobs For Transgenders

‘Job Vacancies Must Mention That Transgenders May Apply’

By LokMarg

Manoj Pachauri, founder of NGO Socio Story Foundation, found the transgender as one of the most vulnerable sections amid Covid. Pachauri discloses his work to make the community self-sustainable

I am an MBA graduate who was drawn to social sector. When I started the NGO, SocioStory to help social enterprises through mentorship and other support, I never thought that in a couple of years, I would witness a pandemic crisis of such magnitude. Like many other NGOs, we too decided to use our resources to help those affected by the virus and the nationwide lockdown.

Thus, we began to distribute food and other essential items to the vulnerable during the first wave amid largescale migration and oxygen concentrators during the second wave. It was during the first wave that we were contacted by several members of the transgender community (Hijras) that there were many of them who had run out of supplies and needed urgent help.

The Hijra community in India usually have no other vocation and live off on charity. Their primary source of income is begging on traffic signals or dancing at people’s wedding or childbirth. When the lockdown was imposed, their earnings stopped. Their neighbours, who had helped them for some time, were themselves running short of money and ration.

So we decided to pull all our strength and lay extra focus on the community. We first identified the pockets where the transgender community members lived in clusters. Then we went to these areas to assess their situation and create some data. We found that many were skipping meals and drinking water to supress the hunger pangs. Some were trying to sell their belongings in return of food. They were in a crisis situation. This was the case in all the cities where we were operating.

ALSO READ: A Police Cap Gives Me Life Beyond Begging & Badhai

We arranged help for over 10,000 transgender people across Vizag, Rajkot, Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi-NCR by continuously distributing ration kits, sanitizers and other medicines for them to survive the pandemic. We tried to keep them fed through crowdfunding till the Unlock progressed. I would here also thank all the donors who came forward to support the community in the times of crisis.

However, we realised our job was not over simply by feeding them during one lockdown. What will they do if another lockdown is imposed tomorrow? These people will be in the same condition again. So we devised and launched a skill-based programme to make transgender people employable and self-sustainable. The effort required two-way approach. While we trained the willing members of the community, we also approached the employers for acceptability.

The society needs to accept the members of transgender community as their own. We need to value their self-esteem and treat them as fellow human beings. If there is a job vacancy in any private company, they should make a mention that they also accept applications from the members of transgender community. Getting quality schooling and college education is also a challenge for this community and we are working to provide them both education and skills to get respectable employment.

‘LGBTQ Pride Continues To Grapple With Prejudice’

By LokMarg

Harpreet Singh, 46, a literary editor from Mumbai, says LGBTQIA+ relationships continue to be judged by same old yardstick, in spite of getting legal sanction three years back

The word ‘pride’ is often associated with the LGBTQIA+ community. Perhaps we should also add ‘prejudice’ to the mix. The LGBTQIA+ community finds itself constantly moving between ‘Pride & Prejudice’ (of feeling pride one moment and fighting prejudice the next) and not really feeling settled. One must have thought that the 2018 verdict decriminalising homosexuality (annulment of Section 377) might have given the LGBTQIA+ community wings and the sky, but people are still prejudiced against us more than three years later, even though the judiciary tells us that there is no rhyme or reason for doing so.

Until and unless we become part of mainstream, until the legal judgement seeps into the social ethos, we cannot truly say that change has arrived. We continue to be othered and bothered, misunderstood and silenced by the majority of people. There is no sense of belongingness and we feel secluded, kept away and marginalised.

LGBTQIA+ people rarely feel completely safe and free to love. Barack Obama brought in the legislation for same-sex marriage in the most progressive country in the world and Trump weakened its provisions. At home, in 2009, a Delhi High Court bench gave a verdict in our favour, which was overturned in 2013. So you never know which way the wind would blow the next moment as far as one’s sexuality and thus one’s life is concerned.

Many moods of Harpreet Singh

There is no solid ground on which we can stand and examine our identity, our feelings and emotions even 3 years later. The power is always in someone else’s hands. In case of same-sex couples, it is still the next of kin rather than the partner who can make important decisions when it comes to matters of life and death (say someone wanting to be taken off life support as a last wish).

Love can never be unnatural, and while we are on the topic of nature, I would say climate change issues are a reflection of our othering of nature. We take her for granted, much like we take people with different sexual orientations, identities and interests for granted. Sex education and conversations around sex have still not been given due importance, while our population proliferates. Dialogue is necessary between different sections of society if we want to go further than token change.

I am an optimist and love celebrating small changes, which might become big over time. At least those aware of their rights in big cities can no longer be mistreated by cops. The social media explosion in the past 3-4 years has meant that many people from the LGBTQIA+ community have found a voice, a social support structure (even if only virtual) and a small scope for discussion in a civil manner.

Around a decade ago, one had Dostana, a neither here nor there film on homosexuality, but now we have Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan which knows what it is talking about and doesn’t do so in hushed tones. That, to me, is change. To me Axis Bank introducing joint account for same-sex couples is also a win.

Whenever new people come in contact with us, they see our sexual orientation first and our hearts and values later. Shouldn’t it be the other way round? Or maybe it should not even matter. How we express our love to our beloved in private is our personal matter.

My family is one of the most liberal families you will come across. It is full of inter-cultural marriages. My dad, a Sikh, married my mother who is a Parsi, and yet he couldn’t not understand my idea of love. I came out at 16 to my mom and at 19 to my family. I was beaten every day by my father since I was 13 and till I turned 17. Our relationship remained fractured till his death in 2018. I was lucky however that my mother stood rock solid behind me and even took part in many a pride marches.

Love for your partner, family, society, country and world at large needs a series of adaptive actions and compromises from everyone. I am a man of love and I can see beyond gender, skin colour, caste, religion, nationality etc. and straight to the heart of a person. Hope someday the community will also be seen for their hearts rather than just their bodies. My best friend is a woman named Poonam who loves me unconditionally and truly sees me for who I am. Soon there will be more and more Poonams… I continue to hope.

As Told To Yog Maya Singh

13 Transgender Persons As Trainee Constables

‘Police Uniform Gives Me A Life Beyond ‘Badhai’ & Begging’

By LokMarg

In an exemplary first, Chhattisgarh Police recently recruited 13 transgender persons as trainee constables. Krishi Tandi, 23, one of the recruits, tells her story to LokMarg

The growing-up period for a transgender child is never easy. But if you are born into a poor household of a small town, it can be traumatic. I too faced dilemmas, dejections, discrimination and derogatory remarks at a young age. It was difficult to reconcile to what I felt from inside and what was expected of me in the world out there.

It was only when I met other members of transgender community in Raipur (where I was born), the trauma became bearable. Yet, it pained me that the social mindset in our country leaves the members of transgender community with only two options for livelihood: Begging or Badhai (singing and dancing at wedding or childbirth). I even thought of ending my life at times. But then I met Vidya Ma’am (in 2017) and positivity breathed into my life.

Tandi, fellow recruits and Vidya Rajput (encircled) meet Chhattisgarh home minister Tamradhwaj Sahu

Vidya (Rajput) Ma’am is a community leader who helped other transgender persons fight back the stigma. She told me (and several others) that there was a provision where a transgender can apply for a column in Chhattisgarh Police constabulary. Ma’am herself was past the recruitment age but she wanted others to prepare and appear for the same. Here was an opportunity for me to live with dignity, I realized.

About 27 of us applied online for the posts in December 2017. There would be one physical strength exam and one written test. Both posed a big challenge. We had never seen a running track closely, let alone indulging into any kind of sports activity. How to train with proper sports equipment was another worry. Vidya Ma’am stepped in, once again. She arranged a trainer for us and we put in extra hours to cross the eligibility threshold. During the first few days we returned from the track with swollen limbs, muscle injuries and completely drained. But none of us called it quits.

The written exam carried its own set of hardships. Although I am Class 12 pass-out, the bullying in school had kept me from proper all-round learning. Again, Ma’am sought help from high-ranking police officials in the state and got us a police facility to study and prepare for the exam.

The recruits in in the office of Ajay Kumar Yadav, SP of Raipur Range

A few days before our physical test on April 5, 2018, I lost my father. But that only made me more determined. I cracked my physical tests and looked forward to clearing the written exam, scheduled a few months later. We took the exams but as luck would have it, the results kept getting delayed for one reason or the other. This was followed by one year of lockdown amid pandemic in 2020.

Well, we never thought it would be easy for us to don the uniform so none of us felt disappointed or demotivated. The Chhattisgarh Police finally decided to take fresh physical and written exams in January 2021. This called for fresh training, after one year of little physical activity. We trained hard. This time the physical exam was tougher, and had a few extra strength tests added. The exams were held on January 29 and results were announced on March 1. I cannot express my happiness when I saw my name on the list of the 13 who had cracked it.

I draw my strength from Vidya Ma’am who saw us through from the first post to the final. With a state uniform and badge, I will take this as an opportunity to contribute to our society in a positive manner. The (police) force has been kind in accepting our aspirations, so now it is our time to give back to the institution and society.

With Chandra Prakash Tiwari Police Line RI, Raipur

As told to Mamta Sharma

MY CROSS DRESSER REALITY: INTERVIEW WITH SONIYA RAO

By LokMarg


A contemporary activists, Soniya Roa, is 34-year-old works as Interior Designer at the post of Project valuation and project leader. She lives a simple life, has gone through miseries in her own life, and has fought the stereotypes and prejudices in the society around her. A Cross Dresser and Gay, herself, she understands the emotional turmoil we individuals go through and is dedicated to eradicate the social inequities in the society.

In pushing against the stereotype and the gender conformity established by society, they become a piece of mockery – in movies and in public. They are denied education, employment and a right to live and are driven to begging and prostitution. The common man insults them or in the most suave cases walks away from them or moves seats in stations, trains, buses and even on the streets. With the great Indian mind set of un-touchability, Cross Dressers are perceived as one amongst them. Even the self-describing “liberal”, “open-minded” educated person wants to “stay away” from the Transfolks. Today she being educated and working at recognised post, she still faces many trauma given in-and-by society.

LokMarg: When and how did your journey as Cross Dresser started?
Soniya: I was 10-year-old when I started loving all things which girls do. I loved wearing dresses and behaved more like a girl. Though I looked like a boy but felt very much like a girl inside. My mannerisms were distinctly feminine and I felt I was more drawn towards “girly” interests and was uncomfortable with boys. As days passed I could figure myself different than my body appearance. It’s been a very emotional journey, I have been raised by my mother, and during my last year of graduation, I confessed her about how I feel but she didn’t accepted me. And I hope one day she will accept me as I am.

LokMarg: How much time did you take for yourself to accept the truth that you feel for same sex?
Soniya: It took me two years to accept the fact….it was not at all easy. Ten years ago there wasn’t so much awareness in India about transgender even among professionals. Moreover, being gay that time was much more of crime or an object to made fun, there were no social media or counselling as such to go and talk about your sexual orientation.

Lokmarg: When was your first public appeal as Cross Dresser? And what reaction you got?
Soniya: During my 12th grade, I met few Transgender (Hijra’s) and with their help, I went out dressed for the first time. Talking about my first experience, it was very bad as people on the street started making fun. They have different image for us, more than human they think we are only for physical use. Since then I realised that my journey might not be so easy in this society where people have limited mind-set. When I confessed to few of my close friends, their reaction was heart-breaking and till today they don’t talk to me.

Lokmarg: What today’s society say?
Soniya: It is sure changing for better in some states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. However, many states of India still are not safe places for transgender people to live. So far, I have got very mixed reactions while some were to heart-touching and behaved sensitive towards me. In some places where I got for make-up or cosmetic shopping, they treat me in much respected manner, while some salesmen they speak in double slang language. Place like Kerala, where it has 100 per cent literacy but has 0 per cent tolerance when it comes to accepting transgender people and allowing them to live a dignified life. India still has a long way to go in recognizing Cross Dresser people’s rights. I believe, it will happen for sure in the coming years.

Lokmarg: What do you want to say about BJP Govt over LGBT rights? Do you hope anything?
Soniya: In the Indian constitution, the fundamental rights under part III are enforceable human rights guaranteed to all citizens of this country, whether men, women or transgender people. We, transgender people, however are discriminated in the society because of our gender identity. Only legal recognition can assure our rights. The state has to come up with policies that protect transgender people and initiate measures to empower us. On that line, I have been sensitizing the judiciary of this country for a better understanding of transgender people’s lives, the issues and problems we face in the society. Talking about BJP, I first hoped for ‘Ache Din’ but by their flip-flop reactions, I have felt the hopes. They never been positive towards LGBT rights.

Lokmarg: What do you think Is the biggest misconception people carry about Cross Dresser/ LGBT community?
Soniya: Most of the people think that being a member of LGBT community is crime, they feel it’s some kind of health or mental issue. I feel there is a need of sensitization programs for lesbian and gay community members. The more we inform and educate one another of our grievances, backgrounds and struggles…the easier it would be to work towards the betterment of sexual minorities as a collective, in this country.

LokMarg: How it feels to hide yourself in public?
Soniya: It gives lot of pain. Imagine the feel of being a blind, it’s the same one from LGBT feels when they are not open.

LokMarg: What would you recommend to all transgender women struggling with gender dysphoria?
Soniya: Be courageous, be with hope, don’t fear, and don’t rush. Most transgender women want to transition immediately. It is a whole new life and an identity. Take counselling and go for surgery only if it is necessary. Don’t take self-medication, consult with doctors, and consult with friends. Most importantly, make sure you have a career and savings for a new life post-surgery. Hold to people who truly love you and be thankful to them.