Himachal: Education, jobs and ending discrimination main issues, says transgender icon Maya Thakur

Shimla: Abuse by students and reluctance on the part of teachers to take action compelled her to drop out of school after class IX, says Maya Thakur, the transgender icon of the election department of Himachal Pradesh's Solan district.

Hailing from the Kothi village in the Kunihar area of the Solan district under the Shimla parliamentary constituency, Thakur said that the situation had become so grim that villagers started pressurising her family to "throw her out".

She was perhaps the only transgender among 35 belonging to the third gender in the state, who gathered the courage to speak up.

"When I used to tell my family members about the mal-treatment and discrimination in the school to the extent that I was not allowed to use the toilet, they thought I was making excuses to skip the school. Given a chance, I would like to resume my education," she said, lamenting that she faced discrimination at "every step in life".

"Education, jobs and ending discrimination against transgenders are our main issues. There are transgenders who wish to study, become teachers, lawyers, join the police and excel in other spheres of life but when we apply for jobs, the response is 'will tell you if there is any scheme for you'.

"I would appeal to voters, especially the transgenders, to vote for employment, safety and education and elect good people who could work for the development and welfare of the people," she said.

"I was born as a male but identified myself as a woman. My identity is that of a transgender woman, we are unisex and not eunuchs," she told PTI, adding that they are not accepted in society as people consider them eunuchs and maintain distance.

The situation is still better in south India as compared to the north, and there is a need to spread awareness for social acceptability for transgenders, who have the right to live a life of their choice, she said.

She also blamed the police for not registering their complaints against high-handedness.

Thakur, who earlier worked at an NGO in Delhi, advocates for lessons on transgenders in educational curriculum along the lines of countries like Canada, which provides for the right to an educational environment free from discrimination and harassment and use of bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.

The eunuch culture of extorting money by threatening or cursing should be stopped, she said. Besides, the practice of eunuchs taking away transgenders or harassing them, and people indulging in such acts should attract legal action, she insisted.