Karnataka: With exercising their right, this election heralds a new era for transgenders

MANGALURU: Equal status akin to men and women, a job to secure themselves and a roof under their head is all they want. Hoping their voice will be heard by the next set of leaders, around 100 transgenders in Dakshina Kannada exercised their vote on Saturday.
The assembly elections marked a new era for the third gender in the district as it is for the first time ever did they get a chance to have a say in the electoral process.

As many as 100 voters from the community registered for the polls of which 56 are from Mangaluru city south assembly constituency alone. Mangaluru and Moodbidri house 13 such people each, eight in Mangaluru city north assembly constituency while six of them registered in Bantwal. Three transgender voters enrolled in Puttur. No transgender voter enrolled in Sullia.

“We are elated to have got an opportunity to cast our votes. We thank the district administration and the election commission for giving us our much deserved right,” said Anushree, a transgender originally hailing from Ballari.

“The stigma attached to us needs to be eliminated. The mindset of the people is slowly changing. We are hoping for a day where we will be treated on par with men and women,” she said.

With discharging their duty, the transgenders now believe they have earned the right to ask the government some help for a better living.

“We do not want to be sex workers anymore. Currently, as most of us have no other option, we offer ourselves to customers for Rs 100 – Rs 200. The next government should give us a job depending on our educational qualification. We will be more than happy to work as Group D workers,” another transgender Sanjana said.

People from the third gender get a paltry monthly pension of Rs 500. They seek a minimum of Rs 2,000 pension per month so that their burden, to some extent, is assuaged.

The efforts of Parivarthana Charitable Trust in bringing most of these people to mainstream of the society cannot be undermined.

“Since December, we had been applying for voter IDs and ration cards to 50 transgenders. We got students from MSW, who interned with us, to apply for their ID cards. 41 of them – 39 in Mangaluru city south and two in Mangaluru city north assembly constituencies – have already got their voter IDs and they voted today” said Violet Pereira, founder of the trust.