Story 1: How many people in Istanbul would have been familiar with a transgender woman, Hande Kader, living there during august 2016. Probably, a very few. Especially, when Turkey was quite conservative on LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex) issues. But when the news of her murder was published on 16th of August in the year 2016, it caused a stir in the air of Istanbul. There was an outcry not only in Istanbul and Turkey but in many corners of the world. So much so that it activists in Istanbul staged a rare protest that was covered by a large number of international journalists including Rengin Arslan of BBC Turkish. Hande Kader's burned body was found in a forest in Istanbul. She was stabbed and beaten badly before that. Hande was an active sex worker and trans community supporter.
Turkish society had never bothered about trans community until then. But for the first time, in that protest, a good number of famous figures in Turkey had joined.
SENER YILMAZ ASLAN/MOKU
"Hande was one of the nicest people in the world. She was very calm normally but also hyperactive. She always went to the LGBTI marches. She pursued a cause that she felt right until the end." Davut Dengiler, Hande's flatmate.
Story 2: Transgender women in Indonesia are known as Waria. Mama Yuli is a known figure as a leader and protector of Indonesia's transgender women. The pace with which Islamic roots have increased in Indonesia over a period of last two decades is directly proportional to the prosecution of Waria. This is a big contradicting situating to the fact that on some of the Indonesia's islands Waria are a revered community. Mama Yuli has been having a really tough time in saving Waria community from prosecution. Yulianus Rettoblaut is her full name. At the age of 11, Mama Yuli realized she wasn't straight. It was not until the age of 18, when she moved to Jakarta and realized she wasn't the only one in this world. She started building up a strong community there and became their leader.
Source bbc.co.uk
As she wasn't pretty enough to take prostitution as a career, she became their protector. She is the first among the Waria in her country to acquire a master's degree in law. She had set up Indonesia's first elderly transgender people care home who usually get disowned by their families at a very early age. For more than a decade now she is running the annual Miss Waria beauty pageants in Indonesia. For initial few years it was happening in open but she had to change it to a secret event after raids of the vigilantes.
Story 3: This story belongs to India Intimate Fashion Week that took place at The Leela Mumbai on Sunday, 22 April 2018. This IIFW had a special show dedicated to plus-size lingerie for which Dr. Mona Veronica Campbell, India's first plus-size transgender model was to walk the ramp as a showstopper for Melons India Show. She is a TedX speaker too. She was titled Miss Transgender 2015. She is a noted celebrity makeup artist and had been declared as one of the best makeup and stylist under the label Varonica Makeup Artistry.
“When I was in Canada working with MAC cosmetics, I was directly approached by fashion agencies as they love my personality. After returning to India, I heard about Lakmé auditions on social networks and I went it for it and auditioned and cracked it. I opened the show being the show stopper for ace designer Wendell Rodricks."
“Talking about good, I opened the shows for two seasons of Lakmé Fashion Week and for Wendell. He was the best part of my journey and he stood behind me, supported and fought for me to get me on the runway as a show opener. I got lot of lime light all over the globe like Ted x, BBC, Facebook, We the Women, New York Radio, Buzzfeed, Tinder, so many of them. Talking about bad experiences, few brands and designers are very insecure/ conservative and biased, thinking I will grab all the attention with my walk and attitude and personality, and dominate their respective brands and labels by being the ambassador/ show stopper after becoming India’s first plus size super model. This was one of the reasons I did not walk for Lakmé this season."
Story 4: This is about Miss TransQueenIndia Season 2 held on 7th October, 2018 at The LaLiT Mumbai, Sahar Airport Rd, Navpada, Marol, Andheri East, Mumbai, Maharashtra. Out of around hundred contestants in the preliminary rounds, 20 on the top reached the finals. These finalists were from various states on India including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kolkata, Karnataka, and other to compete and win the title Miss TransQueenIndia 2018. Mrs Reena Rai, Founder and Chairperson of Miss TransQueen India, was the brainchild behind this event series as she had a firm belief that acceptance and inclusiveness of LGTB community can only happen by treating them an equal part of our society with the respect and dignity they deserve. The competition involved various activities including sports, cultural, and several other rounds.
The winner was to represent India at Miss International Queen Pageant in Thailand. Garnet & Gold was the official media partner for the event. Olmec was beauty and treatment partner, Santachef was NGO partner, and Pageant Vote was the online voting partner for Miss TransQueen India 2018.
Story 5: This 13.12 minutes TEDWomen 2018 talk is worth watching and understanding the grace of parenting and relationship so well done by Paula Stone Williams. She knew at a very young age that she was transgender. But the whole world became altogether different as she became a parent.
It's very important to understand how she crossed the hurdle of fear that coming out would mean losing everything. This is quite a moving, deeply personal talk that Paula and her son Jonathan Williams share what Paula's transition meant for their family.
"I cannot ask my father to be anything other than her true self." - Jonathan.
Here is the video.
This post is also a part of #BlogchatterHalfMarathon hosted by Blogchatter.
The attitude towards transgender people is changing for the better, I think. That's a good sign. But there still is a lot of room for improvement.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I agree with you on both points.
DeleteTimes are changing and hopefully we will learn to accept every human being the way they are.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, yes. Thanks for reading the post and commenting.
DeleteImpressive！Thanks for the post
ReplyDelete