Transgenders find dignity, and life, through microfinance

[Shana A]

Transgenders find dignity, and life, through microfinance

Last updated on: February 2, 2010 14:56 IST

http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/feb/02/slide-show-1-transgenders-find-dignity-through-microfinance.htm

Today she is Gopika, but yesterday she had another identity; that of a man: she was Gopi then.

She was known by that name till she ran away to Mumbai to avoid the kind of isolation and ridicule she faced in her home town, Salem (in Tamil Nadu).

As a child who behaved and dressed like a girl, Gopi was teased, ridiculed and abused by everyone, including his own family. He bore everything stoically till he completed his graduation. Mumbai was his destination, which he thought would help him escape from the trap that he was in.