"People laugh at me because I look different, and I laugh at them because they all look the same" - Chandani Gore – Activist, Nirbhaya Anandi Jivan and office-bearer of the Pune unit of the NCP.
First And Foremost, Let’s Learn Some Terms
Transgender people have a gender identity that differs from those assigned at birth. Some transgender people desire medical assistance to transition from their gender to the gender they identify with. A person who was assigned male at birth, but identifies as female, is a trans woman, and a person who was assigned female at birth but identified as male is a trans man.
An intersex person is born with ambiguous sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals.
Cisgender people do not identify as transgender, i.e. whose gender identity is the same as the one assigned at birth.
Addressing Harassment Faced By The Transgender Community
Transgender person’s parents harass and disown them, so they expect little from society. Society has always alienated them. All types of slurs are used to address transgender people in India Chhakka, Meetha, etc.
Why can’t they be addressed just like people? There have been many struggles and hassles for their community to prosper. Hence, as they pursue education and jobs, are they considered equals even today? The most absurd thing is that some cisgender people are scared of them, mostly when they come around to beg or on the streets. I have seen some females being afraid of them. But the truth is, they don’t even trouble women for money most times.
This is why educating people about the community and gender equality is necessary. People use the word ‘Hijra’ to insult someone, accusing them of being impotent or incapable. This is demeaning as they are not weak. Transphobia should be curbed.
