A couple of days ago, ace fashion designer Swapnil Shinde came out as a transwoman.
Now named Saisha Shinde, via a social media post, the renowned designer, who has worked with the likes of Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Bhumi Pednekar, Kiara Advani among others, made her identity public and revealed how the pressures pushed her to solitude and it took her years to finally accept that she was not gay but a 'transwoman'.
And now, praising Saisha for having the courage to accept her identity and being bold enough to come out with it, television star Hina Khan, who has previously worked with the designer, penned a heartwarming note.
Lauding Shinde for her decision and going public with it, Hina, while re-posting the designer's photo as a transwoman, wrote alongside it, "Identity can originate on the basis of gender but to identify with it, one has to be soulfully connected to it. The warmth and inclusiveness, the creativity and liberalism, the calibre and candour that you possess dear Saisha .. is based on the power of your soul."
"You choose to do what others forgo because of societal norms and I have witnessed it the way you have warmly included me on basis of my ability not the means to show it. I may not know you personally but I know you enough to say one thing.. what you did takes more than grit, it takes more than courage and it takes more than self-awareness.. it is the byproduct of the power of your soul. Your beautiful soul ... and that's what I see whenever I look at you .. Before .. and Now ! A Beautiful Soul !! #IdentifyWithYourSoul #SaishaShinde #LetsLiftEachOther I LOVE YOU SAISHA, THE WORLD LOVES YOU @officialswapnilshinde (sic). #Repost @officialswapnilshinde with @make_repost Here we go 2021 #saishashinde (sic)," Hina added.
Earlier, while going public with the news, Shinde put out a statement that read: "Irrespective of your origin, there will always be something that reminds you of your childhood. For me, it takes me back to the kind of loneliness that aches, to pressures that pushed me into solitude and the chaos of confusion that grew every moment.
All through school and college, while the boys outside tormented me because I was different, the internal pain was far worse. I felt suffocated living a reality that I knew wasn't mine, yet one that I had to stage every day because of societal expectations and norms. It was only in my early 20s at NIFT where I found the courage to accept my truth; I truly bloomed.
I spent the next few years believing that I was attracted to men because I was gay, but it was only six years ago that I finally accepted to myself, and today that I accept to you.
I'm not a gay man. I am a Transwoman."
