Transgender community gets exclusive club

Coimbatore: The Rotary Club of Coimbatore Downtown launched Rotaract Club of TransMom, a first-of-its-kind exclusive club for transgender people in south India, here on Thursday.
The club, which has Dhanshika and Anushya as the president and secretary respectively, has 16 members.
Dhanshika is working in a government hospital, while doing her postgraduation studies.
Anushya, a former cab driver, is now an entrepreneur. “She is a pillar of support for the transgender community. She has trained many members in the community to become cab drivers, thereby helping them earn a decent income with dignity,” said Godwin Maria Visuvasam, district chair, Youth Service of the Rotary Club.
“Through TransMom Foundation and support of Rotaract Club, several members of the transgender community were rehabilitated in and around Coimbatore. We gave them new employment and opportunities and sent them back to their hometowns while understanding their needs and requirements,” Visuvasam said.
The club will help transgender people complete their education and find jobs, Dhanshika said. “Many of them had to discontinue their studies after they came out of their houses. Parents push them away due to societal pressure. Parents should realise that they should live for themselves and for their children, and not for the society. Transgender people need parental support.”
Rotary district governor Rajasekhar Srinivasan, district Rotaract representative Keerthi Vivek and assistant governor Sumit Kumar Prasad were present.