Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, is on a footmarch from Kanyakumari to Kashmir when members of the transgender community in Karnataka meet him. They share their stories with him and emphasise the need to create jobs for them.
A transgender woman named Riana Rajo claimed, “The government dided not grasp what aa transgender group is,” in a conversation with Gandhi while they were both participating in the “Bharat Jodo Yatra.” Transgender people go through a lot of pain and are forced into sex work in order to survive. The government must develop jobs for us and offer us employment chances. If not, generations of people will continue to suffer.
Another woman remarked, “I was expelled from my school in the tenth grade when I complained about being sexually harassed by my seniors. I was instructed by management to modify my gait and behaviour. I was eventually expelled from the school and forced to choose between sex labour or beg for money.
The participants also discussed with Gandhi the necessity for a new national transgender policy that would offer them employment chances depending on their educational background. Gandhi informed them that the transgender community has always been opposed by the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is the BJP’s parent organisation. The leader of the Congress concurred that achieving equality between all societal segments is essential.
