Transgender send rakhis to PM, hoping Transgender Bill will be passed this session

What could be a better festival than Rakshabandhan, to get a safety assurance from none other than the Prime Minister of the country. Making most of the day, the transgender community of the Capital has written a letter to PM Narendra Modi requesting him to bring a positive change in their lives.

Speaking about why they decided to send this letter, Whisky, a transgender says, “When he says, sabka saath, sabka vikas, are we a part of it ? Are we inclusive? Are we a part of the consititution at large? If yes, why are we not allowed to live our life? Where we have no laws for us? Why can’t we love freely and live with dignity. He is like brother to us and we hope that he will save us from the humiliation that we face in our day to day lives. We are sending rakhis to him with a letter expecting that the parliamentarians will pass the Transgender Bill in the next session.” The letter was signed by around fifteen community members.

The letter being signed by the transgenders and the LGBTQ community will be sent to the PM’s address. (Gokul V.Shime/HT )

They even want the PM to discuss their issues publicly. “For his weekly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, he asks people to suggest topics. We want him to speak to him about us, about LGBTQ+. He talks about advancement in technology, GST, Clean India, Income Tax, make In India but we are also here, voiceless and with no rights. Speak about us too. This rakhi we want to make a request to Modi Bhai to look into our matters,” says Bobby, a sex worker.

The NGO chose LGTBQ+ coloured envelope to send their rakhis to PM. (Photo: Gokul V.Shime/HT )

The envelopes that the NGO has chosen show the bright LGBTQ+ colours. “ Our own family disown us and we don’t tie rakhis and celebrate the festival. This might be the first time when someone from our community is sending rakhis to PM Modi with lots of expectations. I hope that will bring a positive change in our lives with jobs and respect,” says Raamkali, a transgender who runs an NGO called Basera Samajik Sansthan for her community.

Sonal Mehta, chief executive of India HIV/AIDS Alliance, the NGO that has organised this initiative, says that they are hopeful that the Transgender Bill will indeed be passed. She says, “Narendra Modi has shown formidable political leadership in the parliament in the past years and during this parliament session, we expect him to show the same leadership and convince his fellow parliamentarians to pass the bill.”

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First Published: Aug 23, 2018 14:39 IST