Surviving the improper stigma of a conservative society

“When I stand in the queue for receiving support, I don’t understand whether to stand in the line for men or that of women, since there is no line for transgenders.”, remarks Diksha (name changed), a transgender carrying out her life in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

The transgender community has suffered the insensitivity of social prejudices. The digression of any conventional social norms, designated to the genders, continue to be labelled as unacceptable in the conservative spheres. The transgender people, therefore, have always dwelled under the apathetic gaze of society that raises several unjust questions against their sexual orientation.

Diksha narrates her familiarity with these prejudices and why she chose to fight against it, “My family did not accept me exhibiting the responses that are considered feminine or inappropriate to the expected gender roles. They used to threaten, scold and assault me for dressing like a girl or woman. Social discrimination forced me to leave my home and come to Dehradun. I have always felt that I am an ostracised section of society. Later on, I met many other Transgender who acknowledged my worth and my choice of defending my individuality.”

Diksha receiving aid under CASA’s COVID-19 response

Diksha, however, started reshaping her life in acceptance of her identity. She was employed as a janitor in a school. While everything appeared to fall back into place, life yet had more hurdles for Diksha. “I had to resign, after a while, because I was not receiving the respect and recognition that I deserved. To make myself self-supporting, I purchased a cow and started selling milk in my nearby area. I was happy until the day I got to know that I am HIV positive. This news erased all the peace of my life because I had no choice but to live with it.”

Diksha’s true story of accepting herself against each piece of social stigma began at that instant. While the battle was not yet over, the outbreak of COVID-19 further grieved her predicament into worse. “The pandemic has brought my life to a halt. The customers, who used to buy milk from here, went to their respective homes. Raising the cow and feeding fodder without an income have made it very difficult for me to continue with my life.”

Diksha did not receive financial help from anybody. “When I stand in the queue for receiving support, I don’t understand whether to stand in the line for men or that of women since there is no line for transgender.”

CASA came across Diksha and extended her a helping hand with the response to COVID-19, “CASA supported me financially and also provided me with ration. I could never thank them enough for this help.”

CASA aims to support every person in dire need of support irrespective of the social bias. We highly condemn discrimination based on caste, religion, race, gender, and sexual orientation. CASA is hopeful in making the society a better and safe place for everyone to live without feeling abandoned or ostracised.

-written by Kajol Tanaya, Intern, Communications