Transpersons in Delhi shelter homes tackle abuse, prejudice

nNEW DELHI: At 11pm on Tuesday, Delhi police officials brought two transwomen, Meenal and Preeti — both of whom go by one name — to a government shelter home for both men and women located in Old Delhi’s Delhi Gate area. However, within hours, the two had to make other arrangements to leave after an argument broke out between the other occupants, reportedly angered by the admission of the transwomen, and shelter home employees.

“We stayed there for a few hours and we were given some food and water. But when some residents started arguing with officials in the shelter home, we decided to leave. We did not want to cause any trouble and stay in a place where our own safety is at risk,” Preeti said. The duo is now housed with a non-governmental organization in the locality.

Such complaints of discrimination by occupants of shelter homes is not new, social activists working with the transgender community in the city said.

Ever since the lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March to control the spread of the infectious Covid-19 disease, the sources of income of many members of the transgender community such as sex work, begging, and ‘mangti’ — a traditional occupation during weddings and other celebrations — have dried up.

“The transgender community has been hit hard by the pandemic. Many are either sex workers or used to ask for money in traffic junctions and that has stopped now. We have received complaints that the occupants of some shelter homes objected to sharing space with transgender persons,” said Sumukhi Deka, a Delhi-based activist.

Deka said that Saransh, an organisation she has co-founded, has accommodated three transgender women who faced trouble in a shelter home in east Delhi.

They faced threats and were subjected to violence by other occupants due to which they left.

Last week, a similar incident was reported from west Delhi’s Rohini, where a transgender woman was asked to vacate a shelter home by its residents. Though the officials intervened and attempted to resolve the matter, the transperson left the following morning and the shelter home is currently unaware of her whereabouts.

Sunil Kumar Aledia, the national convener at National Forum for Homeless Housing Rights (NFHHR) said the aim of shelter homes is to ensure that occupants are safe and provided with a comfortable facility, however, unless there is awareness of issues pertaining to gender dysphoria, the stigmatisation of transpersons will continue to pose problems for them.

A senior official of the district administration said transgender persons are usually relocated with NGOS to ensure their safety.