Boss! Kidhar pishaab karneka?

We live in an incredibly challenging time. Especially because countries that have been a mecca of equality are becoming more divisive by the year. I am referring to US President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke the rule that Barack Obama had brought in which allowed trans people to use the bathroom they deem fit. Title IX states that: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded, or denied benefits or be discriminated against”. As I write this piece, there are mass protests taking place in various parts of USA.

Why is this relevant to us in India? The world is divided by boundaries and borders, but there seriously should be none when it comes to speaking about human rights. I believe that ‘until some of us are not free, all of us are not free’.

Let’s draw parallels in India. When was the last time you were in a public loo and saw a transgender peeing next to you? Or for that matter, when was the last time you met a transgender in a ladies loo and let her pass without greeting her with strange looks? The ‘Right To Pee’ campaigns in India are all focussed on women. We love to reinvent the wheel again and again, it would help if we make this campaign inclusive of trans persons as well. It is time that India starts all gender restrooms at least in five star hotels.

Trans persons have been invisible in our social justice system for too long. We need to call them out. We need to put sign boards saying ‘all genders welcome’, it is important not just for trans persons but also for the other aam junta. At the moment, the only people who are bothered about trans persons are college students.

While trans persons are largely invisible, the hijra community is highly sought after. Every week a couple of individuals call me, some ask in an uncouth manner: “Sir, please give me a hijra”. My hijra friends are not candy that you buy from a local shop. They are not an exotic breed caged for inhuman display in a zoo. They are living beings, not things. I used to get very pissed at such callers, but now I have started reasoning with them. After all, we haven’t been exposed to hijra persons in our education system or life in general. Of course we need affirmative actions for hijras, but remember, if we had proactive measures to equalise things in the first place, we would not need any affirmative actions through reservations.

Our cinema is coming out of the closet very well. If you watch Rangoon, don’t miss Puja Sarup. She plays the male lover of Julia (Kangana) in the film shoots. That’s fiction. How I wish it was that easy for trans persons in real life. Ho naah?