No Country for the Transgenders?
It is a beautiful morning and you are heading towards your
office. Driving the car, you are enjoying the cool breeze with the windows
down. The traffic signal turns red and you stop, following the rules being a
responsible citizen that you are proud of. Suddenly, you hear some clapping
nearby and you turn your head to check who is it. A group of transgenders is
asking for money from vehicle to vehicle. By their movement, you are sure that
one would eventually reach your car to ask for money. Without wasting any
second, you hit the window switch and the glass is up. Now you are just praying
that the light turns green before one of them reaches you. Moments later, the
traffic moves and you hit the gas pedal to rush away as fast as you can. Nice
save!
Down at office, you have a position open in the company to
be filled. HR comes by with some short-listed profiles to show, where you see a
transgender person with suitable experience and talent. Wondering how this
person would mix in the office culture, you ask the HR to take down the
candidature. The organization offers equal opportunities to both males and the
females, but this candidate was neither of them, so who would care for it!
Transgenders are known by a number of names, including
kinnar, chakka and hijda. While the constitution strives for equality and
justice, most of the citizens do not even like to face them, equality is a
far-off subject. We don’t even consider their existence, till we see them on
the traffic signals, at homes where someone took birth or getting married.
Mostly treated like beggars in the society, transgenders are
scolded, mistreated and ignored by us. We won’t shell out a penny when they ask
for it, wondering why don’t they work and earn like all of us. But here is the
stark reality of it, we do not want to see them working in the office, next to
us, or in any ‘respectable job’. If they are not accepted in society, how do
they survive? Transgenders end up mostly in either of the two, whether asking
for money at traffic signals and celebrations, or becoming sex workers.
In 2014, India recognized transgender people as a 3rd
gender, where they are allowed to choose this gender without sex reassignment
surgery. The law changed for good, making India a better place for them to live,
while society still mocked. Although every transgender fight against the
currents of the world, a few stood above all to set benchmarks for others:
- Satyarthi Sharmila – Lawyer
- Joyita Mondal – Judge
- Prithika Yashini – Police Officer
- Manabi Bandhopadhyay – College Principal
- Shabnam Mausi – MLA
- Shabi – Soldier
- Apsara Reddy -Politician
- Meghna Sahoo – Cab Driver
As per BBC research conducted in 2014, there are more than 5
million transgender people in India. Now have a look at the list above, of how
many actually made it through the friction of the society. The world has been
excessively cruel towards them and it needs to change. We are not the
decision-makers for others, so we cannot decide that transgender people should
study, work and live with us in society or not. They have the same and equal
rights as we enjoy, then why such hypocrisy? It is not the duty of activists
like Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, Akkai Padmashali or Gauri Sawant to fight for the
rights, but our responsibility to help them feel comfortable, loved and
respected with us. They are having a very hard life, let’s make it easier for
them by accepting who they are and living in harmony together. We all need to
create a society that welcomes diversity and offers freedom of living.
What I personally have seen are the smiling faces of
transgender people, celebrating the happiness of others, dancing and singing
for them. Wondering about the traffic signals, it is just their smiles and
blessings that I have always received from them, no matter how troubled their
life is. How can we be so harsh against a gender who is also created by the
same Almighty and brought to life through the womb, as we did. They have always
blessed and prayed for our well-being, so why shan’t we step forward to accept
them as one of us.
Beautifully written. Thought provoking. It gives me immense pride that I know a person like you who looks at the world with equal eyes.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nivi.... The learning of individual comes form their surrounding and the people we live around... i am privileged to have people like you around me who inspire you to think differently..
DeleteVery well written..the society needs to change..
ReplyDeleteThanks you... would request if you can kindly mention your name as unfortunately it doesn't show me that.
DeleteOne day you will come out as a pioneering social reformer .
ReplyDeleteThanks my friend but the goal here is to make people aware of flaws that we have in our society and how we all can play our role in uprooting them. please mention your name so we can truly discuss such concerns of the society
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