How A Sex Worker Became A Human Rights Activist, With Akkai Padmashali [Video]

Posted: June 16, 2014

Akkai Padmashali’s story is that of a phoenix rising from the ashes. Find out how a sex worker fought the odds and became a human rights activist!

Deep down, Jagdish always knew he was a woman, but he wondered when that woman was going to come out in the open.

Born as Jagdish in a typical middle class background, a struggle for his gender identity and social acceptance led him into sex work. Today, she – a male to female transgender – calls herself Akkai Padmashali and is a human rights activist.

In this video Akkai recounts her struggles with gender identity, her sex work in Bangalore’s Cubbon Park and that she always knew deep down she was a woman. “I used to play with girls a lot. One day my father brought me home and poured hot water on my legs. He said that if I didn’t act as per society’s norms, this was my punishment,” recalls Akkai while in conversation on Chai with Lakshmi.

In this video we hear the life story of a woman, who was been constantly pressurised into living a socially acceptable life. We learn of the difficulties she has faced at home, at work, in the sex trade and how she now fights for other transgenders who face the same.

Watch this amazing video here: