Job training transforms lives of Bangladesh transgenders
Friday, September 14th 2012, 03:49 PM
by Agence France Presse

http://india.nydailynews.com/newsarticle/5053778bc110c00945000002/job-training-transforms-lives-of-bangladesh-transgenders


Saiful Islam works in Dhaka at the offices of ATN Bangla, Bangladesh's largest private television channel

The Bangladeshi government has enacted a program to help marginalized transgenders find a place in the work force. The program, which equips them with technical skills such as video editing, is helping normalize the transgendered population in the country.

"The best part of my job here is that my colleagues treat me like any other human being. For a hijra this is a great achievement," Islam, who started his new career eight months ago, told AFP. "A crowd would build up to see me and my three other hijra colleagues when we joined ATN Bangla. Some would even tease us. Now everything is normal. We're like any other staff."

Islam, 22, is the beneficiary of government efforts to help transgender people who are among the most marginalized and discriminated groups in India and Bangladesh. Last year he was one of 30 hijras to attend a technical school to take courses in videography, garment-sewing and beauty care to help them get jobs and integrate into mainstream society. After six months of training, his friends Bobby and Chanchal found positions as video editors at ATN Bangla, while Islam and Opu became make-up artists at the station.