Walking the talk on gender identity

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, March 3

On the concluding day of week-long ‘Garvotsav: Chandigarh Pride 2019’, more than 250 people marched from Panjab University to Sector 17, asserting the transgender sexual identity while holding rainbow flags and echoing the slogans of inclusivity.

The walk was organised by the Mangalmukhi Transgender Welfare Society and Saksham Trust, which advocate equal rights for the LGBTQI community. Several other organisations, including Canadian Embassy, Hamsafar Trust, Harmless Hugs, FPAI and Keshav Suri Foundation, collaborated with the NGOs for the walk.

While the initial events at the walk focused on creating awareness about transgender rights, inclusivity and acceptance, people marched to the beat of dhol, singing, dancing and rejoicing while taking pride in their diverse gender identities. “The event was funded by the Canadian Embassy. We received Rs 50, 000 from them. Also, The Lalit Group invested Rs 30,000. Though the expenditure incurred surpasses the funding, I am glad that the Canadian Embassy joined hands with us for the third consecutive year,” said Dhananjay Chauhan of Saksham Trust, who is also the first transgender student to have enrolled in Panjab University. At the walk, Cousul General of Canada Mia Yen shared: “We are here to promote transgender rights, which are the basic human rights.”

Prior to the walk, the Humsafar Trust also staged a play, ‘Asmita’, exploring the emotional and psychological dilemma of a transgender person. Akshay Tyagi from the Keshav Suri Foundation shared: “We have always rooted for inclusivity of transgender people in corporate spaces and often give people a reimbursement for sex-reassignment surgeries too.”

The ‘Garvotsav: Chandigarh Pride 2019’ after-party, which was hosted at The Lalit, had a 10-member transgender giddha group ‘Tiranjan’ from Nawanshahr, Punjab. One of its members, Sonia, said: “We support our living with giddha and jaago functions. This giddha group has kept our dera going for the past eight years. It’s been a successful venture, since we get business from weddings and Lohri functions. This is the kind of inclusivity we are looking for, not just in the purview of performing arts, but also in mainstream offices and professional spaces.”