Meet Heidi Saadiya, Kerala's First Transgender Broadcast Journalist

On Monday, when Heidi Saadiya reported about ISRO's Moonlander 'Vikram' separating from Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, she did not just announce a historic achievement but also created history by becoming the first transgender broadcast journalist from Kerala.

Saadiya made her debut on TV as a reporter for Kairali TV, a Malayalam news channel where she has joined as a News Trainee.

K K Shailaja Teacher/ Facebook

A resident of Chavakkad in Thrissur, Saadiya had studied electronic journalism at the Institute of Journalism in Thiruvananthapuram.

Congratulating her, Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja called Saadiya is an inspiration for the rest of the transgender community.

Expressing her happiness about being accepted into the mainstream, Saadiya also hoped that one day her parents will also accept her for who she is.

Biju Muthathi/ Facebook

"I have no complaints or ill-feelings towards my parents who have refused to accept me. Even though I wish you accepted and supported me, I am sure that it will not happen. One thing I have to tell you is this, today your this is how your kid is living and not in any wrong path. All I have for you is love and gratitude," she wrote in a Facebook post.

Saadiya might be the first transgender broadcast journalist in Kerala, but she is not the first in India to make it to TV.

In 2014 Padmini Prakash from Tamil Nadu became India's first transgender to anchor a daily television news show. She made her TV debut on 15 August on Lotus TV, a Tamil news channel based in Coimbatore.

BCCL/FILE

It is not just TV screens that transgenders have managed to find acceptance in.?

In 2017, Anjali Ameer from Kerala became the first transgender to play a lead role in an Indian movie. Anjali, a resident of Kozhikode played a key role along with Malayalam superstar Mammootty in critically acclaimed Tamil movie Peranbu which was released in 2018.?