‘We want to be called what we are’
Representatives of transgender community from 19 districts meet to discuss policy, struggles
A month after the Maharashtra government cleared a comprehensive policy for the transgender community, the State Human Rights Commission, along with NGO Anam Prem and two other welfare bodies, explained the policy threadbare to the transgender community at a recent meeting in Pune.
Though the policy ensures all rights as citizens of the country, the trans community is still craving for its own identity. At the meeting, members said they are happy that the government, very thoughtfully, drafted the policy for them, but it will be established only when they receive the status as ‘transgender persons’.
At the three-day event, trans persons deliberated on the policy and decided how to implement it. Nitin Patil, the secretary of the State Human Rights Commission said, “For the first time, the entire transgender community from 19 districts gathered and the policy was explained to them. It was quite an interactive session.”
A representative from the NGO told the FPJ, “Nearly 100 transgender persons from across the state came under one roof. The fact that transgender persons will also enjoy the rights of legal heirs is still far from discussion. We are at a very primary stage, where we want an identity of our own.”
Riya Mayuri Aalavekar, a resident of Oros, Sindhudurgh, who is the first government transgender teacher in India, was also a part of the event. Riya said, “How would you like to be addressed? A man or a woman, of course. In the same way, I want to be addressed the way I am – a transgender person.”
Riya said the community appreciates the steps taken by the government, but asked if people know where their struggles start. “They start from establishing our identity. We want to compete with others under the same identity that we carry, and not as ticking ourselves as a male or a female.” Riya is now preparing for MPSC exams.