Kochi Metro plans to hire 23 transgenders
new delhi — Kochi Metro is setting the pace for gender justice in India. The metro authorities last week decided to employ 23 transgenders. These 23 are selected from a pool of 530 Kudumbashree members, a poverty eradication and women empowerment programme run by the Kerala government. Kudumbashree has been one of the great success stories in community building.
The transgender staff will be appointed at ticket counters and housekeeping sections depending on their skills and aptitude. It is for the first time that a governmentowned company is providing employment to transgenders
The women and transgenders are selected after a written test followed by an interview. They will be serve 11 stations between Aluva – Palarivattom corridor of the Cochin Metro. Those selected go in for further training in soft and technical skills, like ticket vending, housekeeping, parking, customer relations and gardening. A few of them will join the canteen at the coach maintenance depot at Muttom.
“The initiative is a signal to indicate the humane face of Kerala society. If successful, the members of the community will be given employment opportunities in the proposed Water Metro as well,” Kochi Metro chief Elias George said.
The initiative hopes to bring about changes in Kerala’s traditionally male-chauvinist perception. Giving transgenders equal opportunity to work with men and women and earn a living will integrate them into society, an activist said. “But the other employees also need to be trained in how to respect transgenders,” the activist said.
One potential transgender staff member expressed apprehension on this count: “Even if we get the jobs, we would be made fun of. If I work in an office, the other workers, for example, will mock me for walking like a woman.”
Kochi has been a pioneer in gender justice. Recently, the city opened India’s first transgender school. The school, named Sahaj International, was inaugurated by a transgender activist, writer and actor, Kalki Subramaniam. This alternative learning centre works in collaboration with the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). The school, the first of its kind in the country, is expected to go a long way in ensuring equal opportunities for transgenders who have dropped out from school.