Society Didn’t Accept Transgender Woman Aizya Naaz Joshi, But She Won The Miss World Diversity

She was never wanted in the society, her parents sent her away. She willed and finally got what she longed for – respect. That’s Aizya Naaz Joshi, India’s first transgender cover girl. 

“To live with all the abilities in life is not a big deal, but having disabilities in life and then living your life perfectly is the biggest achievement in life and the people who have this spirit are the born survivors.”

This line I wrote suits very well all those people who have proved that it’s not the physical capabilities or the appearance that make you achieve something in life. Rather, it’s your spirit and attitude that encourages you to achieve something in life. It makes you stand somewhere in society.

When she was young, Aizya used to live in Delhi. She believed herself to be a girl and never thought that she was a boy. All here activities were similar to that of what a girl’s would usually be. Her parents sent her to Mumbai, so that people wouldn’t come to know that she is a transsexual. Since childhood her life has been full of struggles.

Hailing from a multicultural background, Aizya’s upbringing took place with her maternal uncle’s family. She worked in restaurants and went through many unfortunate happening, but that didn’t diverted her from her goals. She wanted to do something that should that would earn her respect in the society. Education mattered to her a lot, and she managed to gain admission in National Institute Of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and scored a top rank there. After that she pursued MBA in Marketing from IMT through correspondence as she was not given a regular admission.

She is among the first transsexual women in India who have been portrayed on the cover page of a reputed magazine like Tehelka. Yet, although she has put in a lot of efforts, she feels that she never got the due respect that ‘normal’ people usually get. When she entered modeling, she met Rishi Taneja, a well known photographer and he made a biopic on her. After seeing that film,  some media houses gave her a big break and she made it to the cover page. She was not accepted at first, but she didn’t give up thinking of ways to make her life better.

During her photo shoot for the cover page of a magazine, she felt she was just dreaming. But then her parents called her up and said, “We are proud of You”. That was the happiest moment for her. They called her up in Mumbai and now she lives with them.

Aizya believes humanity to be her religion. She thinks of the love and respect that she didn’t get, and hopes that she would be able to give it to those people who need them. In her words, “It’s nothing like if society has not accepted me then I should do the same.”

She has been part of many fashion shows and later she participated in many beauty pageants. She also organizes the Mrs. Homemaker competition, and under this banner she has organized six beauty pageants till now. She has been a show’s stopper too in the Rajasthan Designer Festival 2014.

If there is a ‘will’ then there is always a ‘way.’ With all her hard work, determination, success and achievements, Aizya Naaz Joshi is the living example of this.

Published earlier here

Image source tennews

Urvashi Vats

Learn More