(Prayatna celebrated 73rd Independence Day with the Trans community to impart the message of inclusion)
Prayatna celebrated 73rd Independence Day with the Trans community to impart the message of inclusion. First we started with the ice-breaking session in which we played games with them and tried to get comfortable with them along with that we next played a game in which we asked them to share their views on “what’s freedom for them” through their answers we could feel the glimpse of their dreams and their fantasy they hold on and what circumstances they are going through in the current situation and what they want from our society. Next, we divided them into teams where they had to prepare a dance within 5 minutes on any song and the best 1st and 2nd will be awarded. The judges for this session were Ms Aparna Srivastava (Programme Manager guiding souls) and Ms Deepika Thakur (Head of the Transgender Community in Samarth Clinic).
Before announcing the results, the judges gave a beautiful performance on a song and then they proceeded towards the result announcement and the winners were given handmade pen which had a seed of a plant at the bottom, an eco-friendly stationery kit (including pen, notebook, and pencils) was also given to Ms Deepika. At last but not the least Ms Aparna sang a beautiful song and we shared our views about the interaction with them and what we feel regarding their state in the country. Then they had organized some refreshments for us we had it with them and proceeded with meeting and having some more fruitful relationship with them in future so that through our efforts we could help them in any need.
Workshopon ‘KNOW YOUR TRANS COMMUNITY’ with 6 organisations:
The session was attended by employees of Guiding Souls,Sashakt Foundation, Mission Smile, Malaria No more, TREE Craze Foundation, RedBaloon, and Students of Amity Institute of Social Sciences
On the 21st of August, 2019, Prayatna invited Mr. Deepak Thakur who is a well-known youth activist for the young LGBTQI community. Deepak’s contributions range from the role of an ‘HIV & Human Rights Activist’, championing the cause of protecting Human Rights of the LGBTQI community across the India, to being a ‘VOICE’ at many forums.
Deepak (from here forth addressed as Deepika), began by telling us about the history of transgenders and how being a transgender was criminalised because of the spite of a jealous queen. Deepika told us of a queen in 1800s, whose husband was smitten by a man in the royal court. Fearing that her husband had sexual relations with another man, she declared any sexual relation/ act that is unnatural and doesn’t produce a child as a crime (by‘unnatural’ she meant same sex relationships).Dipika then proceeded to explain the difference between the four terms Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgenders. In simple words, lesbians, gays and bisexuals are terms that are given to people based on their sexual orientation i.e. a lesbian is a girl who is attracted to a girl while a gay is a man attracted to a man. Bisexuals on the other hand are attracted to both men and women and may be involved with any gender of their choice. Transgender is an identity based on how an individual perceives themselves to be. A baby when born is assigned a sex based on their genitalia but as the baby grows up into an adult, he/she may realise that he does not conform to the normal traits thatare associated with the sex assigned to him/her at birth and that is a transgender. Dipika was born Dipak and he shared some of his childhood memories of when he started to realise that he was more comfortable being a woman.
At the end, Dipika said the only reason she goes to events is to speak out for those who can’t or won’t talk about these challenges. And although she is happy that section 377 was repealed and some of the population is accepting of the LGBT community, there is still a lot to achieve.
ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF ABOLITION OF SECTION 377:
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is a section of the Indian Penal Code introduced in 1861 during the British rule of India. Modelled on the Buggery Act of 1533, it makes sexual activities “against the order of nature” illegal. On 6 September 2018, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the application of Section 377 to consensual homosexual sex between adults was unconstitutional, “irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary”, but that Section 377 remains in force relating to sex with minors,non-consensual sexual acts, and bestiality.
Portions of the section were first struck down as unconstitutional with respect to gay sex by the Delhi High Court in July 2009.That judgement was overturned by the Supreme Court of India (SC) on 11 December 2013 in Suresh Kumar Koushal vs. Naz Foundation. The Court held that amending or repealing section 377 should be a matter left to Parliament, not the judiciary. On 6 February 2016, a three-member bench of the Court reviewed curative petitions submitted by the Naz Foundation and others, and decided that they would be reviewed by a five-member constitutional bench.
On 24 August 2017, the Supreme Court upheld the right to privacy as a fundamental right under the Constitution in the landmark Puttuswamy judgement. The Court also called for equality and condemned discrimination, stated that the protection of sexual orientation lies at the core of the fundamental rights and that the rights of the LGBT population are real and founded on constitutional doctrine.[9] This judgement was believed to imply the unconstitutionality of section 377.
To mark the day Prayatna celebrated the day with Trans community. We started the day at 104.8 FM where transgender community members interacted with RJ Sarthak, where they talked about their life and struggles.They shared their views on the existing laws and policies and their shortcomings.
Prayatna had organized a make-up workshop for the transgender community. The community was really excited to learn more about make-up and this workshop helped them become closer with their feminine sides. Followed by dinner at Cafeteria &CO. , which becomes first restaurant to open its doors to LGBT Community in Delhi by hosting dinner in evening.
ECO-FRIENDLY GANESHA MAKING WORKSHOP:
Prayatna conducted Eco-Friendly Ganesha making workshop with Trans community in the month of September. For a nation that goes numb on subjects like sex, period or gender change, it would be nothing less than a shocker that Indian mythologies once gave holy prominence to gender-reversal.Various texts suggest that third sex individuals were well known in pre-modern India, and included male-bodied or female-bodied people as well as inter sexual, and that they can often be recognized from childhood. A third sex is also discussed in ancient Hindu law, medicine, linguistics and astrology.The foundational work of Hindu law, the Manu Smriti (200 BC – 200 AD) explains the biological origins of the three sexes: “A male child is produced by a greater quantity of male seed, a female child by the prevalence of the female;if both are equal, a third-sex child or boy and girl twins are produced; if either are weak or deficient in quantity, a failure of conception results.Indian linguist Patanjali’s work on Sanskrit grammar, the Mahabhaya (200 BC),states that Sanskrit’s three grammatical genders are derived from three natural genders. The transgender community deserves the dignity and respect that most people take for granted.