Recent years have seen far more visibility for Trans* people in media & politics in many parts of the world. But as we know from changemakers working in this area, visibility has yet to translate fully into liberation & full citizenship.
Ashoka’s Nico Pablo spoke with Dr. Akkai Padmashali about her approach to building a world that works for all of us. Co-founder of Ondede, she has been trailblazing new paths for India’s sexual minorities to lead change and build political power, in coalition with allied movements, such as those advancing the rights of children and women. In this conversation, she reflected on the advances made over the last 25 years and spoke about the work that remains.
Akkai Padmashali is the co-founder of Ondede, a social movement advancing sexual minority rights in … [+]
Nico Pablo: First off, how are you faring during this most recent Covid wave in India?
Dr. Akkai Padmashali: I’m beautiful. Just two days ago I got my vaccine. Many of my community members in South India were so fearful of Covid vaccines. So I went and told them “See Akkai is still alive after vaccination. So don’t worry, just go!”
Pablo: How is Trans* visibility changing in India and South Asia?
Padmashali: Twenty to 25 years ago, the situation for transgender people in India was not easy. We were killed, beaten up, harassed, abused, raped, sexually assaulted. Society and the police were not supportive of our existence. Political participation was far from representative. But today, drastic changes have happened. People are accepting. India’s sexual minorities are now influencing law enforcement, the bureaucracy, the judiciary, the executive, the media, political participation. It’s leading to friendly policies for the transgender community. This is thanks to 20 years of struggle and agitation against social phobia and discrimination.
Pablo: And your organization, Ondede, has played a big part in that. Tell us about it.
Padmashali: We founded Ondede on November 20, 2014 – a day of significance to remember our transgender friends who are killed each year (Trans Day of Remembrance). Ondede came together as a feminist organization to bring the topic of gender & sexuality rights to the children’s-, women’s-, youth-, class-, caste- and religious minorities rights movement. We wanted to break the barriers that kept us separate.
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Ondede addresses sexual and domestic violence, advocates for sexual minority rights, and educates police officers and mainstream society to eliminate social exclusion. Today, I am proud to say that the Honorable Supreme Court of India in 2014 and 2018 ruled that a person’s dignity cannot be curbed in the name of gender and sexuality.
Pablo: How are you working with the police?
Padmashali: I was a beggar and a sex worker for four years. The police violence I endured then was brutal. I was forced to have sex with them. But just 20 years later, we are now invited to train the Karnataka Police Academy on gender, sexuality and human rights. That’s real social change.
It all starts with going to cruising spots and hammams to educate street sex workers about their rights. We educate them to accept themselves and question authority when atrocities happen to them. Police violence has drastically reduced in the last five years thanks also to new generations of changemakers. Now police officers call us and seek our guidance when problems emerge.
Pablo: The pandemic led you to also work on family reunification, because many of your community members were enduring sickness or dying alone.
Padmashali: Yes. Through our family intervention project, we help families accept their children as they are. People like my brother and his wife, share their stories of acceptance with non-accepting families. So far, 45 families have been reunited. We need to grow this initiative.
Pablo: You recently adopted a child. As your child grows up, what changes would you like to see in India?
Padmashali: Let me be very clear, as a mother, as a transgender woman, I do not want to judge my child’s sex and gender. Let my child decide. As a mother, I am here to ensure there is a platform for my child to grow. On the day my child decides, I shall accept their gender and sexuality. I took this decision because I was judged, tortured and discriminated against by my own family, neighbors and relatives. So, let me not do the same thing to my child. I have very big hopes that society shall change.
Pablo: What does trans* liberation mean to you?
Padmashali: So many of us are facing discrimination. Be it environmental injustice, social exclusion, racism, discrimination because of our religion, ethnicity or even the food we eat. It is our responsibility to show support and build solidarity with other movements and communities. Until we stand together as one community, it is highly difficult to speak about any sort of liberation. I am here not only for Trans* liberation, but for the liberation of every human being.
Follow Ondede and Dr Akkai Padmashali.
This piece is part of Ashoka’s series on Gender and was edited for length and clarity.
The * in Trans* indicates the inclusion of other gender identities such as gender-fluid, agender, etc. alongside transgender and transsexual.
The article was originally posted at: %xml_tags[post_author]% %author_name% Source%post_title%
