Hyderabad trans community sells pickles for living strives to be self-reliant

To support themselves amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns, a group of trans women in Hyderabad are preparing and selling pickles and other eatables for a living. According to Jasmine, the President of the Trans Equality Society, the idea of making pickles and being self-reliant came after people in the transgender community shared their experiences of discrimination and ill-treatment. “I came out as trans 20 years ago and many people asked me why I was like this and why I begged on the streets for money. They don't realise that people segregate us from society because of which earning a livelihood is difficult. If we want to travel, auto drivers aren't ready to take us and people never want to sit beside us on public transport. That is where the inspiration to help our community came from,” she told ANI. Help was extended to them by Montfort Social Institute (MSI) under their 'rainbow initiative'. “We first started with ginger and garlic paste and now we are doing pickle and papad and slowly trying to expand our business. Other trans women have also been inspired by us and have come forward to help," she said. "I would like to give a message to the rest of society that we have come forward to support ourselves, no we need the support of other people to take this forward. We request people to purchase our products, which will not only support the business but also the trans community," she added.