But what happens to these communities if the projects they are working on close down and the NGO stops working, questioned Veena, a transgender and an active member in the sexual minority group. She suggested people belonging to this group look beyond help from NGOs and fight with the government for a separate identity.
Speaking at the public meeting of Samara - LBWT ‘Lesbian, Bisexual women, Transgender’ here on Friday, she said that the sexual minority group should not completely depend on any NGOs and community-based organisations.
“We are happy about a government order which included lesbians, bisexual women and transgenders, but a GO is not enough. We need to ensure that officers at the lower level in the government actually implement it,” she said. Veena advised individuals confused about their identity not to leave their houses, but to counsel their parents and create awareness about transgenders in society to accept them.
Case study
Discussing problems related to sexual minorities, some of the female to male persons shared their experiences. Christy Raj was born a simple girl, but later realised she felt more like a male as she was attracted to female friends in her class.
Watching Christy’s unusual behaviour, the school suspended her for a few days and her parents almost disowned her.
Unable to bear the insult and the confused state of her identity, Christy left home and lived on the footpath until she was rescued by Sangama, an NGO working for the sexual minorities.
“There are thousands like me who are caught in this trap of sexuality and are unable to express themselves as society does not accept them. People like me who leave their houses are deprived of basic needs like food, education and shelter. The government and society at large has to look at the plight of such people,” she said.
Christy now works with NGOs.
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