India had a Transgender Lawyer Satyasri Sharmila, a
Transgender Judge Joyita Mondal, a Transgender Police Officer Parithika
Yashini, and now Megha Sahoo and Rani Kinnar are bringing in a change by
venturing into transport service.
I first heard the term transgender in class 6th. One
day when I asked my Hindi Teacher,the meaning of the term. She said that there
are three types of sex- male, female and transgender. I get confused that if
female gender is for woman, male is for man but who are the transgenders. She
looked at me and found it difficult to answer and asked me to leave. I got into
deep thinking about what this term meant
and was enlightened by my brother. He not only told me about their
characteristics but also how we stereotype them in doing particular kind of
work. He very casually told me that these people, often ask for money in the
trains, roam here and there and also indulge in unsocial activities. I was made
to believe that these were the only work that they were capable of doing. There
were a lot unanswered questions in my mind but I decided to let them rest.
Then as time passed I found that the colloquial terms
used to describe them like Hizzra and
Kinner were used in an abusive manner.
Then in the year 2014 October, when I
was in the 10th class, I came across a lot of videos online, read a lot of
stories, and a lot of articles that
described their condition in India.
This inquisitiveness led me to speak to a
Transgender person Chameli, who lived in
Naraina, New Delhi close to where I lived. While I was asking her about her
health and her lifestyle, it occurred to
me that they were victimised and despite her interest in education, they were
left out. Even in terms of work, they were exposed or rather offered very
limited jobs.
This left me thinking that when we cannot consider
them a part of our society or give them equal rights, why should we expect them
to live their lives otherwise. It is not
easy to face the world when you are constantly being looked down upon for your
sexuality. Almost every other transgender person has to face the abusive
behavior in the society they live in. To make their lives better and to make a
mark with this identity, they have to take the tough path.
And since then, I have been reading about them,
knowing about them and want to know more and want to tell people that they are
one of us.
The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the
youth wing of the CPM, has inducted nine members of the transgender community
into the organisation as part of its efforts to bring the marginalised section
into mainstream politics and universities across India have created options for
higher education of transgender people. Time we change our perception and
realise that inclusiveness is the door to development of all.
Lina Sharma
Ist Semester
Department of Communication and Journalism
No comments:
Post a Comment