“THE COPS DEMAND FREE SEX”
Dressed in a sari, her hair tied in a loose bun, a touch of kajal in her eyes and a small bindi on her forehead, Ragini is a headturner. Her looks are what she depends on to earn a living as a transexual sex-worker. “I wear more revealing clothes when I am on the roads waiting for clients. What shows is what sells,” she says flashing an unapologetic smile. Of course, she has another set of clothes that she wears when she is with her family. “It’s men’s clothes then; no make-up, hair hidden by a cap. My mother and sister know what I am and what I do but would rather not face it,” Ragini says wryly.
As the only son of the family, the pressure to “act as a man” were always great. “But I was effeminate in my ways. One day, a girl in my neighbourhood saw me walking. The way I was carrying myself alerted her. She called me and asked me whether I was a woman. Then, she brought me to meet this group of transgenders. That’s when I got clarity about who I am,” says the male-tofemale transgender.
Ragini was just 15 when she was introduced to sex-work by a friend. “My father had an accident and I needed money. No one was willing to give me a job because I was so young. Back then, it was bad. The clients would physically abuse me in addition to having sex with me. Now I enjoy it. I have learnt to take care of myself and sometimes the men are so goodlooking,” she giggles. With abuse from the family, social stigma that makes discrimination common at educational institutions and workplaces, and limited means of earning a livelihood, many transgenders are forced to resort to sex work. For some, it is also the only way that they can hope to get any sex. For them, the supreme court verdict means nothing. “This is the only life I will know. Since I started coming to Kinnar Bharti group, I have been taught the importance of using a condom and always carry one with me. If the client want any special variety I ask them to get it,” says Ragini, who studied up to the sixth standard. Her rates depend on the size of the prospective client’s vehicle; cars, parks and public toilets serve as boudoirs. “One has to be alert. Both, the clients and the police pose a threat. If the police catch us, they will let the client go but will harass us. Often, they force us to have sex with them. And that hasn’t changed with the Supreme Court verdict,” she says. Ragini hopes to save enough money to undergo a surgery that will give her the body of the woman she identifies herself as. Till then, body suits and hormonal injections to boost feminine features must do the job. PB