• Home
  • News
  • Longform
  • Life
    • Jeans
    • Madam Zeenat’s Feminist Tarot
  • Health
  • Work
  • Culture
    • Books
    • Art
    • Music
    • Fashion
    • Cinema
    • TV
  • Sports
  • Kranti
  • Vaanthi
  • The FAK
  • About
    • Submissions
  • Home
  • News
  • Longform
  • Life
    • Jeans
    • Madam Zeenat’s Feminist Tarot
  • Health
  • Work
  • Culture
    • Books
    • Art
    • Music
    • Fashion
    • Cinema
    • TV
  • Sports
  • Kranti
  • Vaanthi
  • The FAK
  • About
    • Submissions
HomeNewsChennai Corporation’s New Initiative Provide ...

Chennai Corporation’s New Initiative Provides Hope for the Transgender Community

May 25, 2017

By Manasi Nene

Photo by Whitney Lauren via Flickr CC 2.0

With the recent Vicks advertisement that went viral, and reports of a marriage between a cisgender man and a transgender women, it seems that India is slowly becoming more and more welcoming to people who do not fit into ordinary gender norms. Now, in an even more welcome move, the Chennai Corporation, with the NGO SIP Memorial trust opened a new night-shelter for Chennai’s transgender’s community, reports The Hindu. Opened in Chetpet about a month and a half ago, this 25-resident space is already full, though there are hopes to expand.

The shelter is a welfare-to-work initiative, meant for residents who are having trouble keeping a job or a finding a place to live. The shelter also organises workshops and vocational training, to help transgender people who cannot find steady income. The main aim of this shelter is to help those who have been cast out by their families and communities, so that they can become self-sustaining.

Many people in India’s transgender community have to resort to begging or sex work – even though Tamil Nadu and Kerela are more progressive than other places in India, there is still a lot of work left to do. With inadequate promises that are hardly ever fulfilled and a lack of representation in the government, it must be remembered that ventures like this are definitely a step in the right direction, but we cannot ignore the systematic way in which a whole section is shunned and discriminated against, simply for having an identity that doesn’t fit comfortably into the mainstream.

In the same report, transgender individuals have spoken about difficulty finding jobs, getting a house, and being accepted by their families. One woman can return home only on the condition that she dress like a man; another only managed to meet her family on her brother’s wedding day. Landlords often charge higher rent for transgender people, and the lack of stable income means even lower rents can become a great hassle.

The shelter is one of 47 maintained by the Chennai Corporation, and the only one that is specifically instituted for transgender people. Since 2012, they have been working closely with NGOs to run these. This building does have its own share of problems though – distance from the city is a hindrance, and there isn’t enough room for everybody who wants to stay there.

According to Chennai Corporation, residents would be rehabilitated in four to six months, and that future plans to build such shelters would rest on the success of this one. We’re waiting to see how that goes.

Tags: chennai, kerala, Transgenders

Share!
Tweet

ladiesfinger

About the author

Related Posts

What Women Wore to the Women’s Wall in Kerala

In What World Is Trupti Desai the Biggest Problem in the Sabarimala Mess? A Nice Delusional World

Seven Questions About the Salem-Chennai Expressway the Government Doesn’t Want Us Asking

My Family, Your Family and Why You Should Contribute to the Kerala Flood Relief

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Trending

Sorry. No data so far.

Subscribe to our email newsletter!

You May Also Like

  • After Payal Tadvi’s Death Can We Allow Medical Education to Continue to Pretend to be Casteless? May 28, 2019
  • Jokha Alharthi’s Man Booker Win Reminds Us of Oman’s Recent Slave-owning Past May 24, 2019
  • In Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow is Sexy, Sterile and So Burnt By Marvel May 12, 2019
  • Let Us Admit the Sins of Atishi Marlena May 10, 2019
  • 20 Questions for SC Panel that Cleared the CJI of Sexual Harassment Charges May 9, 2019


Online Bachchi, Dil Ki Sachchi

Come on over for feminist journalism.

Politics. Pop Culture. Health. Sex. Law. Books. Work.

We write what we want to read.

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund Policy
  • About
  • Contact Us

Subscribe to our email newsletter!

Keep up with us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on E-mail

Trending

Sorry. No data so far.

Copyright © 2018 The Ladies Finger
Subscribe to our RSS/Atom feed here