Transgender have always been the target of cruel jokes and have seldom found acceptance in the society. Their genetic makeup, in which they have no control, becomes their plight and they end-up being rejected by the society. How cruel and unfair!
When Thailand’s P.C. Air hired four transsexuals as flight attendants, many welcomed the move. The photos were splashed all over the world and it was seen as a brave new effort towards greater inclusivity. Many raised doubts whether it was a mere show-off or a publicity gimmick, making even moiré fun of the transgender. However the fact remains that despite criticism this airline gave them an opportunity to work and earn a honourable living.
A recent research by students of a Mumbai-based business school found that although transgender people exhibit employable skills, lack of social acceptance and almost no employment opportunities force them into sex work or begging. They also found that transgender people are eager to be employed and found private companies who have no qualms in hiring them. However, they do not get any applications from this community.
In light of such findings, these students have developed a community centre which will focus on creating work opportunities for the transgender community; a place that would act as a meeting ground for employers and transgender people seeking employment.
The companies however maintain that ‘public behaviour’ would play an important role in their decision to hire a transgender person, since almost 100% of transgender people interviewed categorically stated that they would not give up their identity.
Hopefully our society gets rid of this sinful attitude towards transgender and does not discard or discriminate them. Mind is always more powerful than the body and I am sure that if given an opportunity transgender shall prove to be asset for organizations.
Please spread the flame!
1 comment:
Perception about Transgender in our society is completely pathetic. People feel it’s a controversial topic to speak about openly. Lot of people doesn’t understand and there is no concrete or scientific evidence that tells what causes transgenderism. But I don’t blame the public behavior against transgender. There is no public awareness among most of them about transgender. Even the media and Movies portraits them as a symbol of prostitution and untouchables. I personally feel that the government should take serious initiatives on this unrecognized third gender and create awareness among the public. The government and educational institutions can add a chapter in their subjects about transgender and the woes faced by them. This could help in such a way at least the future generation of the majority will start respecting the Transgender. But there are also some sections of people in transgender who makes use of their perception among the public and grab money from them by sexually harassing, especially to the male gender. I personally faced this problem many times while travelling in train from Chennai- Bangalore and also while waiting in Bangalore traffic signals. So I won’t neither blame the majority genders or the transgender alone, it’s all the system, religion and the surroundings which separate us from looking at each other in a healthy perspective.
Kailash R
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