“All I ask is that you accept as worthy of respect what you’ve all along considered unnatural and illegal. We want to live as women and if we are granted the facilities that will enable us do so, we will live as other women do,” writes A Revathi, a transgender activist, in her autobiography, The Truth About Me, published by Penguin Books, India, the first of its kind to be written by one belonging to the third sex, a hijra.
The book will be launched officially in the city on August 6 at Reliance Time Out, 74, Ground Floor, Prestige Feroze building, Cunningham Road at 6.30 pm.
Revathi is the former director of Sangama, an organisation for sexual minorities that started working for greater awareness and education of issues related to sexual minorities in August 1999. “After beginning work at Sangama, I came to realise that I am not alone, and I need not be ashamed of who I am anymore. In fact, I now proudly proclaim that I am a complete woman,” Revathi said.
Sangama has worked tirelessly to empower more people to stand up for themselves and fight for their rights. “I began working for Sangama in the year 2004 as a peer educator, giving information about human rights to members of our community. I gained confidence. Earlier, I used to shy away from people, reluctant to admit that I am a homosexual,” said Akkaiamma, coordinator, Sangama, an organisation that has helped several of its members get education.
“I talk to all kinds of people now, government officials, members attending conferences. And having learnt English, I no longer feel inferior,” said Akkaiamma.
Among the big achievements that Sangama can list is the fielding of Veena S, a hijra, for the elections to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike.
This was the first time that a hijra was contesting. “The leadership and legal training programmes conducted by Sangama served as a great source of encouragement as I decided to contest the elections to be a corporator,” Veena says.
Unfazed by her defeat, Veena says she will contest the next elections too. “Losing to the Congress does not matter. I was able to beat the JD(S), and I got 675 votes. I shall continue to fight for the rights of my people, as there is still a long way to go,” she says.
