The discussion i had with my cousin Pavan yesterday prompted me to write this blog. Most of it is directly copied in verbatim from Pavan's blog (http://thoughtpaisa.blogspot.com/2009/12/gender-exclusivity.html)
Whenever people talk of gender diversity ( people actually talk of 'gender inclusivity but since there are not too many diverse genders, let us stick with 'inclusivity') they most often mean the inclusion of women in hitherto men dominated spheres of work.
This in, late 2009, is passe. The march of women at workplace, in India, is slow but sure and is gathering pace to the (pleasant) point of no return. Which is to mean that the world (including corporate world) can choose to ignore women to their own peril.
However, the fate of trans-genders in India is deplorable. Disowned by families, abandoned by society and forced to fend for themselves, the national profession for transgenders seems to be petty extortion at traffic signals and railway compartments.
Their situation is pathetic. They simply have no means of livelihood because of their unpleasantness.
Of course, in some communities, there is a social accommodation in rituals involving transgenders to bless the social function. While this provide a source of livelihood, it does little to bring transgenders to the mainstream. In fact, having the opposite effect - furthering the myth of a transgenders' potency to bless and curse.
Society chooses to ignore them, because it is unpleasant to think of them. Anyway if you travel in air conditioned cars and coaches, it is very convenient to ignore them.
No mainstream enterprise hires transgenders. They have no marketable skills. But they are able-bodied and know that society is embarrassed by them AND have stomachs to support. Easiest way is to use unpleasantness and extort a price for it. They are not doing this out of choice.
The difficult and uncomfortable question is how to get them to mainstream and make them give them the dignity. Universal declaration of Human rights say that "Everyone is born with equal freedom and dignity". Unfortunately the problem of transgenders are never spoken about in any political or social forum/agenda.
When governments can have rehabilitation and skill development programmes for HIV infected people and differently abled people, why not a similar programme for the transgenders?
There are many thousands of transgenders in India. Their problems and the problems they create cannot be and should not be ignored. The social stigma associated with them will reduce once the society finds a way to rehabilitate them with dignity.
To start with they are able bodied people. They can be hired as unskilled jobs with minimum social interaction. Of course this is a humongous social engineering work and easier said than done. But one hopes that it will be done someday.
Whenever people talk of gender diversity ( people actually talk of 'gender inclusivity but since there are not too many diverse genders, let us stick with 'inclusivity') they most often mean the inclusion of women in hitherto men dominated spheres of work.
This in, late 2009, is passe. The march of women at workplace, in India, is slow but sure and is gathering pace to the (pleasant) point of no return. Which is to mean that the world (including corporate world) can choose to ignore women to their own peril.
However, the fate of trans-genders in India is deplorable. Disowned by families, abandoned by society and forced to fend for themselves, the national profession for transgenders seems to be petty extortion at traffic signals and railway compartments.
Their situation is pathetic. They simply have no means of livelihood because of their unpleasantness.
Of course, in some communities, there is a social accommodation in rituals involving transgenders to bless the social function. While this provide a source of livelihood, it does little to bring transgenders to the mainstream. In fact, having the opposite effect - furthering the myth of a transgenders' potency to bless and curse.
Society chooses to ignore them, because it is unpleasant to think of them. Anyway if you travel in air conditioned cars and coaches, it is very convenient to ignore them.
No mainstream enterprise hires transgenders. They have no marketable skills. But they are able-bodied and know that society is embarrassed by them AND have stomachs to support. Easiest way is to use unpleasantness and extort a price for it. They are not doing this out of choice.
The difficult and uncomfortable question is how to get them to mainstream and make them give them the dignity. Universal declaration of Human rights say that "Everyone is born with equal freedom and dignity". Unfortunately the problem of transgenders are never spoken about in any political or social forum/agenda.
When governments can have rehabilitation and skill development programmes for HIV infected people and differently abled people, why not a similar programme for the transgenders?
There are many thousands of transgenders in India. Their problems and the problems they create cannot be and should not be ignored. The social stigma associated with them will reduce once the society finds a way to rehabilitate them with dignity.
To start with they are able bodied people. They can be hired as unskilled jobs with minimum social interaction. Of course this is a humongous social engineering work and easier said than done. But one hopes that it will be done someday.
I want not approve on it. I regard as warm-hearted post. Especially the appellation attracted me to read the whole story.
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