Acceptance is my biggest concern: Transwoman Asha

HYDERABAD: A transgender has broken the glass ceiling. Thirty-year-old Ashadam Asha of Karimnagar is set to start her own photography and videography venture, having been granted a loan of 5 lakh under the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP). Asha, who holds a PG diploma in hotel management from the city, lives in Karimnagar town.
Karimnagar district collector RV Karnan said this was the first instance of a transgender in the state being granted a loan under PMEGP. The cheque was handed over to Asha on Tuesday.
"It is only now that challenges will unfold for me. I have got financial support but the question bothering me is whether I will be accepted by the society," Asha said.
Asha told TOI that she would set up a photography, videography and video editing unit. Her plan is to cover functions, including birthday parties, weddings and other social functions or for that matter, any event. Asha has been a photographer since 2017. "Because of the appreciation that I have got, I decided that I will take it up as my vocation," she said.
She is thankful to the authorities for showing her the way to lead a honourable life. When her application for the loan was getting delayed for clearance, she said Karimnagar district additional collector Garima Agarwal stepped in and took personal interest in seeing that the loan application was cleared.
As a boy, Asha would rather go with her sister and sit in her class. "Gradually, I felt I could not reconcile myself to being a boy. I got a surgery done for sex change," Asha said. Her parents and two elder brothers had no issues with her choosing to be a woman.
"I wish the society accepts me as a professional photographer and videographer and does not discriminate against me. Let my work speak for myself," Asha said.