popular culture article on Acceptance of Transgenders in society
From the ancient times transgender people were considered not to be considered in the society as they were discarded from the human society. The lifestyle of transgender people and also that acceptance was just like daydreaming for them. The Ardhanarishvara form of divine energy, created by merging Shiva and Parvati is worshiped in Hinduism. During Mughal rule in India, trans people were given important posts of security and decision making. It’s really sad that it took so long for trans people to get their legal recognition in India.
The kind of atrocities their society faced was hilarious in both mental and physical manner. No legal protection was addressed to them, they were supposed to live in poverty, report of the Expert Committee on the issues relating to Transgender Persons of Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, 2013 finds that the Transgender community is one among the most marginalised and vulnerable communities in India. They face high levels of stigma in almost every sphere of their life such as health, schools/colleges, employment, social schemes and entitlement. Extreme social exclusion diminishes self-esteem and sense of social responsibility. The community needs to be included in the mainstream development program of the country and be protected from all forms of abuse & exploitation.
The major stereotype they faced were: -
1. Every Transgender Person Is a Hijra
This is far from the truth. While those who are ignorant and insensitive often use Hijra as a derogatory term to mock and abuse effeminate boys and transgender individuals, what most people in India don’t realise is that the hijra community is a socio-cultural community comprising of transgender people who may belong to India and even a few neighbouring countries. They have their own set of rules and customs, and only a transgender person who accepts to become a part of this community can only be called a Hijra. Thus, every transgender person is not a Hijra.
2.Trans People Are Incapable of Doing Significant Jobs
While many trans people have been successful in breaking the prejudice surrounding them, in several parts of India, people still believe in stereotypes and refuse to give jobs to trans people. Not only is a lot of awareness needed regarding this, but proper education and skills should be imparted to trans people so that they can become a productive workforce. Many trans people drop out of school/college because they suffer bullying and harassment. There is not only ignorance among students, but teachers as well. This can only be solved by awareness and sensitization of educational institutions regarding transgender issues. A well-educated transgender Indian is as capable and deserving to be posted on significant jobs as any other cisgender Indian.
3. Being the Parent of a Transgender Child Is Shameful.
This is one of the most common prejudices present in society because of which people disown their own children to suffer alone in this world – it’s heart-breaking!
Parents who see their children through the eyes of society often don’t realise that to be progressive, a society needs to evolve and necessary changes need to be made with time as we learn new things. It is our responsibility to make it better, more inclusive and progressive by ushering in the necessary changes.
The views of society towards an individual, a group or a community starts from us, because we are a part of society.
4. Transgender Women Can Never Become Mothers
The Vicks advertisement – which featured trans woman Gauri Sawant as a mother and showcased her relationship with her daughter – brought tears to the eyes of many. Still, most people in India argue that a trans woman can’t be considered a mother because they can’t give birth to babies. In a country where one who gives love and takes care of a child is respected more than the one who gave birth to child, denying someone the respect to be called mother, just because they can’t give birth to a child is totally inhumane.
One of the sacred texts in Hinduism too says that motherhood has nothing to do with any particular gender. The only thing that matters is a heart filled with love for children.
“ya devi sarvabhuteshu matri-roopein sansthita
namastasyai, namastasyai ,namastasyai namo namah
(To that divine goddess/divine energy, who abides in all living beings as mother Salutations, salutations, salutations to thee, again and again)”
– Devi stuti from “Durga Saptashati”
5. Being Transgender Is a Choice and A Transgender Person Changes Sex to Date People of The Opposite Gender
No, it has already been proved in significant researches that being transgender is not a choice. It’s because of ignorance or lack of awareness regarding trans people in society that some people still think that being transgender is a choice. They are unaware of the psychological trauma a transgender person goes through every day.
Some people go to the extent of saying that trans people change their sex to date people of other the other gender. In an era, when we can know about almost everything through search engines on the internet, people should try to know more about trans people before commenting anything on the topic.
On August 12, 2015, a video was uploaded to YouTube that went viral overnight (Yathartha Pictures 2015). Uploaded by Yathartha Films, a film production house, and commissioned by Humsafar Trust,1 the video shows seven hijras singing the national anthem. We see Paras, Madhuri, Urmi, Samina, Fida, Rani and Shreya come on screen, one after the other and sometimes in pairs. While they sing the anthem, a write-up comes on the screen spelling out what alternative careers they could have had. So, for example, Paras could have been a teacher, Madhuri could have been a lawyer while Rani could have been a police officer. The viewer knows that hijras constitute one of the most marginalized communities in India. Battling stigma and multi-layered forms of violence, ranging from the sexual to the physical, they are often left with no livelihood options other than begging, sex work or collecting money from families celebrating weddings or the arrival of a new born. Thus, without spelling it out explicitly, the video talks of work opportunities that have been violently foreclosed for a group of people in this country.
A year earlier on April 14, 2014 the Supreme Court of India had upheld the right of Indian citizens to self-identify their gender, regardless of gender affirmation surgery in the National Legal Services Authority (henceforth NALSA) v. Union of India case. It also stated that no person can be discriminated against on the basis of gender identity. In order to ensure non-discrimination, the Court advocated for reservations for transgender individuals in jobs and education. So then, Yathartha’s video featuring hijras is not only about the rights they have been denied but also about what they can potentially achieve and aspire to, thanks to the NALSA judgment. The video was therefore a call to the government to act on the Supreme Court ruling and ensure its implementation. Thus, what the video effectively did was to present the stake that this much stigmatized and reviled group of people has in achieving full citizenship in the Indian nation, a message delivered, in this case, on the eve of India’s Independence Day on August 15.
