68 Years After Independence, The Third Gender Still Struggles For Dignity

¡°I thought I was not a part of this world.¡±

It has been 16 months since the Supreme Court formally recognised the third gender, and started reforms for individuals of the community. But are they really 'individuals' to us? Aversion, if not violent hostility, is what all transgenders take for granted in their lives. Do we even treat transgenders as humans ourselves?

In one word - No.

We don¡¯t treat them like the everyday people we meet, with lives, professions, dreams, and desires. They're just creatures to us - transgenders, eunuchs, third gender. We don't even see them as human, really!

In Bollywood, they are the noisy things that lurk in brothels, groping the lead actor, or the funny distraction that lightens up a scene. In real life - well, our parents taught us to look away and hide our kids lest they infect us.

We've taught ourselves to look at them through a lens coloured by fear.

But what if someone showed you how transgenders are people just like us - ordinary people with lives, professions, dreams, desires, and emotions?

Our friends at 101 India approached five members of the transgender community and asked them what their 'career dreams' were, what they aspired to do with their lives, if they were given a chance. Following that, we asked photographer Ashima Narain to give these transgenders a makeover that helps them feel, for the first time in their lives, professional.

The best part? This gave our perceptions a makeover of how we look at them.

But what about you? How do you view transgenders?

1. Would it completely change your life if your air hostess was a transgender?

"I have seen air hostesses ¨C they are very beautiful. I wondered why I couldn't present myself as one of them" - Harsha

2. Would your medicine be less effective if your doctor was a transgender?

"I would be a doctor so I can help my community in the feminization process¡± - Shreya

3. Would you trust a transgender to defend you in court?

"I would choose this profession to bring about awareness in the community, and tell them that they too have rights" - Urmi

4. Would you take a transgender cop seriously if you were pulled over by one?

"The police actually harass our community a lot. It's why I want to be a policewoman who helps the transgender community instead¡± - Poonam

5. Would you entrust your child's educational development to a transgender person?

¡°I want to prove that a 'hijra' can also work responsibly and hard to improve their position" - Somya

We have all known or met people who have chosen the careers, and the fields, stated above. It doesn't matter what gender they are. Then why does it matter what gender Harsha, Shreya, Urmi, Poonam and Somya identify with? There's dignity in any form of labour. Let's dignify transgenders with labour to begin with.

The biggest question - what are we doing about it?

The 101 India Transgender Project created by 101India.com powered by Indiatimes is an attempt to hammer in the idea of transgenders as 'real people', not objects of hostility. A project which for the first time gives an opportunity to the Transgender community to be photographed in roles and jobs that they'd like. Only if society let them.

What is 101 India

101India is an online youth focused portal created by a team of youth television experts, film makers, writers, bloggers, animators, designers to create a pot boiler of everything that makes India the crazy but delightful circus that it is. They support the underdog, believe in diversity, refuse to take themselves too seriously and are not big fans of censorship (moral or otherwise).