Trans women on a mission
Sharmeen Kaur Mehra, or Sanha—as she prefers being called—is a professional makeup artist from Ludhiana, Punjab. In addition to freelancing, she also runs a small makeup studio at her home. However, these are not the only facets of her life. Sanha is a transgender, a term that is often substituted with derogatory ones like “hijra,” “kinnar,” or “chhakka.”
“Till 2017, I identified as the third gender because I hadn't undergone sex realignment surgery. I wanted to change myself into a woman but for that, I needed a lot of money. So I decided to become an entrepreneur—a makeup artist. Finally in 2019, after saving nearly Rs 4 lakh, I underwent a sex realignment surgery,” said the 27-year-old. After the surgery, she identifies as female.
India has an estimated transgender population of 4,87,803. The countrywide census conducted in 2011 had options to declare a person's sex—“male,” “female” and “other.” This was India's first attempt at collecting data on people with non-binary gender identities.
“The Jeet Foundation offered me a platform to achieve my goal. I first took a beauty course at the NGO, then I saved enough money to go for professional training at the VLCC Insitute of Beauty and Wellness,” said Sanha. Jeet Foundation is a Ludhiana-based NGO that offers short-term courses in cooking, makeup, computer, and knitting.
At a time when 96 per cent of trans individuals are forced into low-paying jobs, begging, or sex work, Kalki Subramanian, a gender rights activist, entrepreneur, artist, actor, and writer from Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, is mentoring transgender artists and artisans.
Subramanian, a trans woman, trains other trans people to earn livelihoods and counsels them about personal wellness through the Sahodari Foundation, which she founded in 2008. Since its inception, the organisation has been involved in innovative ways to reach out to the transgender community, empower them and make their voices heard.
“Art is my passion. I sell my art and art prints. I am also on the verge of launching my brand of exclusive clothing and my first NFT (non-fungible token) collection,” said Subramanian.
Talking about how her identity affects her work, Subramanian said that her gender identity used to be a challenge, but not anymore. “There is support for transgender persons who aspire to be entrepreneurs. People recognise a good product regardless of gender. However, it is true that members of our community still face stigma.”
Also Read — Transgender stories in Indian cinema
The transgender persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016, prohibits discrimination against a transgender person, including unfair treatment or denial of service concerning employment, education, healthcare, access to public goods and facilities.
Like Sanha and Subramanian, Urooj Hussain, a transgender entrepreneur hailing from Bhagalpur in Bihar, opened a restaurant called "Street Temptations" in November 2019 in Sector 119, Noida. "I started my restaurant with a vision to support binary and non-binary people of the LGBTQI community. I wanted to give my staff a harassment-free workplace so that they didn't suffer as I did," said Hussain, 27. "I studied hotel management and worked with many hotels before starting my restaurant," she said.
However, after struggling for more than one and a half years due to the pandemic, Hussain has had to shut shop indefinitely. "After closing my restaurant, I am working on many many social and welfare causes. As the situation stabilises, I will be back with more affordable, and quality foods," she said.
Meanwhile, speaking about the need to recognise the talents of transgenders and create opportunities for them, Subramanian said, “The trans community is abundantly talented but it needs opportunities and recognition. Mentorship will help the transgender community. As an activist and entrepreneur, this is a call for mentors and investors to come forward and support our community.”
(Kartikeya is a journalist from Delhi who is passionate about covering culture, politics, conflict, food and human interest stories)
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