Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
India's first transgender modelling agency is to be launched soon, which is a very brave step by Mitr Trust. You too can help them in this venture.
India’s first transgender modelling agency is to be launched soon, which is a very brave step by Mitr Trust. You too can help them in this venture.
Did you know, that murder and rape rates are much higher in the transgender community than the ordinary community? 69 years past independence, we still have not given an equal footing to the transgender community of India. It is only recently that, they too have been given the same rights as anyone else. Society often labels them as Hijra and the job they are left with is either as a beggar or as a sex worker.
But as Rudrani Chetri , a TG (Transgender) activist and head of Mitr trust states, “ We are neither male or female. We are the third gender. We are beautiful.”
Beauty does not need to be just a man or a woman, it can be a transgender too. In our everyday life, we do not see people from the TG community in the public space. We don’t see even TG children in schools and colleges. Just by labeling them as the other, we often deny them of their basic rights as a human being, which is every human being’s right, by birth.
To create more awareness about the TG community in the public space, Mitr trust is launching the first TG modeling agency in India, with renowned fashion photographer Rishi Raj. Morale in the community is low. It’s not easy for a person in the TG community to just venture out in the ordinary walks of life, for no matter how good they are, people around don’t treat them right.
This step by Mitr, will make the people of the TG community more visible in the public space. Last year there was a 22% cut in AIDS fund. It is suspected that there is again a rise in AIDS due to lack of condoms.
With this modeling agency, Mitr is will choose five models and create postcards out of them. These postcards will have information about the TG community and the discrimination that they face to create awareness.
But for this venture funding is needed, which is extremely low. Mitr needs around Rs 490,400 to set up this project. If you want to know more about it you can donate here.
This step by Mitr Trust is a brave step towards an equal world. Its high time, we stand for the TG community which has always been discriminated in the public space. More power to them.
Cover image via goFundme
Proud Indian. Senior Writer at Women's Web. Columnist. Book Reviewer. Street Theatre - Aatish. Dreamer. Workaholic. read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
Please enter your email address