March 14, 2012
Seeking their rightful space
Subha J Rao
http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article2994257.eceA break from family is one of their deepest regrets. Transgenders also wish society would be more accepting of them, writes Subha J Rao
We're meeting at an upmarket coffee shop. They walk in, unsure, trying to avoid the stares. Sari-clad Sangeetha, wearing a string of pearls and red lipstick, leads the group. "Even going to a coffee shop is difficult. We know you're waiting for us, so we walked in more confidently," she says.
Lakshmi, 40, with a sweaty forehead and hair put up in a bun, bristles with anger when she recalls routine humiliations. "Walking down the street or market used to be difficult. People would throw tomatoes and pelt stones at us. We were insultingly referred to as 'onbadhu'."
Today, despite being the president and joint secretary, respectively, of TAI Vizhudhugal (Coimbatore), which works for transgender rights and underprivileged women, Sangeetha and Lakshmi admit they still have many hurdles to cross. Travelling by bus is an ordeal — "People move away when we sit next to them," says Lakshmi. Shopping is no-no. "They think we've come to beg," says Sangeetha.
