Page 21 - Tehelka Issue 15 August 2018

gender bender

sion and rehabilitation for this commu- LGBT community and allies in Kashmir.
nity. It also seeks a provision of social They are exclusively working for the
security including a monthly welfare welfare of gender and sexual minorities
fund for transgender people. The PIL in Kashmir. This organisation was start-
demands that government should ed by Aijaz with two like-minded people
acknowledge the transgender commu- Enus Shafi Khan and Farah Ashraf, who
nity as a marginalised and vulnerable are the part of this movement and the
section of society and therefore, intro- co-litigants in the PIL as well.
duce reservations in educational insti- Insha tried to speak about the issue
tutions and government jobs. with her mother and sister. Although,
The PIL also demands housing facil- her sister understood her plight her
ity, formal and non-formal educational mother remains reluctant to accept
programs, transgender-friendly policy anything. “At times my mother is of the
of schools, setting up of counselling opinion that I have been possessed by
centres, a transgender welfare board, Jinn (Ghost) or she feels that I have been
and equal applicability of all laws. It brainwashed by Jews,” Insha said.
intends to have provisions so that the When Insha convinced her mother
basic human rights of this community to visit a doctor, her mother told her
are recognised. that she will choose the doctor. Insha
till then I know I have to suffer Born as a female in the uptown Sri- was then taken to one of the noted
silently,” Afreen added. nagar, 24-year-old Insha felt as a “man psychiatrists in the valley, Dr Arshad
imprisoned in a female body” when she Hussain, who diagnosed her with acute
Fight for rights continues was about to reach teenage. depression and gender dysphoria.
Nine years back, a ‘Hijra meanzimy- Insha’s mother thoughtthat the fam- “My mother threw her hands
oar’ (matchmaker) visited Aijaz Ahmad ily issues are impacting her daughter, after coming out of doctor’s chamber.
Bund’s home with a marriage proposal instead, Insha was suffering from gen- She said that he is no God and I will be
of his elder sister. The attitude of Bund’s der dysphoriaand was reluctant to talk taken to a peer (Spiritual healer). Let her
family was awful towards the match- about itwith anyone. “I was in distress take me anywhere but I want to get
maker and they were reluctant to wel- about myself, my body and most impor- rid of my breasts at any cost. My upper
come the guest. From the demeanour tantly my sexual identity. I neither liked body makes me fidgety and agitated. I
of his family members, Aijaz got an idea to be among boys nor girls. I wanted to tried to strangulate myself a few days
how people view them and where they stay alone and was suffering silently.” ago but somehow my sister managed to
are positioned in the society. Insha, who was bright in studies save me,” Insha added in an exasperat-
Aijaz initiated a conversation with found it difficult to cope up with any- ing tone.
the guest, meanzimyoar, and got to thing, as a result, she dropped out from Conflict has overshadowed every-
know about their problems. He soon engineering college during the third se- thing and the basic rights of transgen-
started visiting their community and mester. She then stayed in the home for der community have been taken away.
befriending them. Aijaz then pledged continuous nine years and cut off ties However, the LGBT community of
to become the voice of transgender with friends, classmates, relatives and Kashmir is helping others to come for-
community. Surprisingly, Aijaz is not a even siblings. A year before Insha start- ward and speak about their miseries
transgender. ed reading about different communi- and the abuse that they go through on
“They were living a subhuman life ties online and found a community an everyday basis. “Our children are
full of abuse, discrimination, violence, ‘SWT - Sonzal Welfare Trust’ an organi- communicating with the entire globe
and harassment. I began with sensitis- sation formed in 2011 and started by the through the internet and observing the
ing my family, friends, and the people developments, changes that are hap-
around me. I eventually started work- pening worldwide. They too wanted to
ing at grassroots level and advocating express their feelings but our society is
for their rights,” said Aijaz, transgender Kashmir as a still conservative. We are yet to reach
activist and scholar. He has published any heights and are backward when
a book in November 2017, called Hijras society is beginning we talk about science and technology.
of Kashmir: A Marginalized Form of to accept the Hence, we are not ready to accept the
Personhood. facts and remain in denial always,” said
In June 2017, Aijaz moved a PIL (Pub- transgender noted Poet and historian Zareef Ahmad
lic interest litigation) in High Court. The community, who Zarref.
PIL seeks to create programmes ensur-
ing social, economic, and political inclu- majorly sing folk letters@tehelka.com
songs in marriages
or are matchmakers