JOIN USUNAIDS 'Unbox Me' campaign highlights rights of trans kids
To mark the occasion of International Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, UNAIDS--The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS--is sensitising larger communities on the rights of transgender children by launching the "Unbox Me" campaign. A two minute and 10 seconds film, part of the campaign, explores the secrecy and shame that trans children go through.
A study by the Indian Journal for Psychological Medicine said 31 per cent of transgender persons in India end their life by committing suicide, and 50 per cent of them had attempted suicide at least once before they turned 20.
With "Unbox Me," several Indian renowned personalities like filmmaker Zoya Akhtar and television journalist Barkha Dutt are now unpacking boxes sent to them in short videos on social media with an aim to open the conversation for transgender children. These videos are a play on the unboxing videos, which are quite popular, but in this case, they are symbolically unboxing hidden childhood treasures of trans children, like gadgets and toys, which otherwise do not comply with gender norms set by society.
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"The closeting of trans kids doesn't just happen at puberty; a lot of the mental anguish happens as early as when they are two years old," Swati Bhattacharya, Creative Chairperson--FCB India, who conceptualised this campaign, told DH.
"This campaign is for every child because we do not want kids to handle the mountain of guilt and shame on their own because they realise that their parents will never recognise their feelings.”
On Children's Day last year, UNAIDS released a short film, "See-me-as-I-am,” featuring an Indian child, to sensitise the issues transgender children face and offered an alternative humane solution to the problem. It managed to touch the hearts and minds of people, both in India and globally.
"Many of us take our gender identity for granted, but for many children in every part of the world, it is a matter of daily survival, a daily struggle of who they are, what they want to be and to confront the labels society has given them," Mahesh Mahalingam, director, communications and global advocacy, UNAIDS, told DH.
"The 'Unbox Me' campaign is about giving trans children visibility. It is a call for inclusion. A call for acceptance of their identity."
"Population surveys in six countries have generated estimates that between 0.4 per cent and 1.3 per cent of the population may be transgender. In 2019, 32 countries reported to UNAIDS that they had formally criminalised or prosecuted people because of their gender identity or expression."
"A study in South Asia found that eight percent of transgender children had been unfairly removed from education settings. A report by India National Human Rights Commission showed that parents do not play a proactive role in supporting transgender children."
For many children, their call for inclusion is not heard by their own families. They are forced to hide, run away from homes, or drop out of school. Not just that, they suffer verbal and physical abuse at the hands of family members and hide their status as long as they can. However, when they are supported, they thrive.
"I have faced dejection and insults," said Santosh Giri, Secretary and Executive Director, Kolkata Rista, a Transgender Community-Based Organisation, revealing her ordeal. It scared me for life, but I mustered the courage to fight, and my mother played a significant role in my life. She always supported me and taught me to have a positive outlook, which gave me courage. She is why I could come out of the closet and face the world."
Giri asserts that it doesn't suffice enough to create awareness on a particular day or month, but it should be a continuous process backed by activities on the grass-root level.
The 'Unbox Me' campaign is now aiming to travel to schools across India.
(Gurpreet Kaur is a journalist who writes on lifestyle, entertainment and culture)
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