We have accepted them legally when it comes to their legal rights but that is not the last thing. There is more when it comes to our responsibility as a “human”. We need to accept them from our heart and no law can make a bigger change than that. So it’s high time we take steps by ourselves and come forward to make a better place for them.
1. Isolated
In India there are 1.2 million transgender people also known as hijra’s. They are kept away from other communities and their own family when they are born.
2. Happy Realization
Less than 12 months ago Supreme Court granted legal recognition to the community as a third gender.
3. Family
Hijras live in houses where a chief or godmother acts as leader. There are no single religion they adopt a combination of Hindu and Muslim culture.
4. No social Life
They don’t get decent jobs and usually don’t go out in public and most restaurants will not let them dine there.
5. Dressing and make up
They have maintained Indian traditional hair, clothing and also apply loud make up before getting out in public.
6. Religion
They adopt a combination of both Hindu and Muslim cultures and refer to each other as mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, great – grandmothers.
7. Prostitution
Many turn into prostitution for their living and also beg in trains. traffic signals and so on.
8. Marriage
Marriage is like next to impossible and even if some of them get married, they don’t live with their husbands and see them monthly or hardly once in a year. And often these marriages have sad endings.
9. Begging
The rights of the transgenders maybe changing but even the country’s first transgender mayor has admitted that she had started her living by begging.
10. Beauty
They look beautiful and traditional in their own ways of makeup and dressing. They never go unnoticed in the crowd.
11. Home and safety
Small or big the house may be they prefer staying with their community within the safety and care of their companions.
12. Pride of transgender community
Do remember Lakshmi Tripathi?
First transgender to represent Asia Pacific in the U.N in 2008. She has an arts degree from Mumbai’s Mithibai College and a postgraduate in degree in Bharatanatyam. She is a celebrity and transgender activists who appeared in popular shows like Dus ka Dum, Big Boss, and has given an awesome presentation on life of Hijra’s on TEDx.
Hope to see more Lakshmi in the community in future and for that we just need to accept them. They are capable of learning and working just like us, we just need to encourage them. Share this message and act on it. Do your bit if you claim to be a human!!!
