New Delhi: Holding a toilet seat as a symbol of protest, Rajan Singh, the Capital’s first transgender Lok Sabha candidate, demanded gender-neutral toilets for his community last week outside the district magistrate’s office in New Delhi’s Saket.
The demonstration on 5 September was Singh’s way of standing up for the rights of the trans community who often face insults and hostility while trying to access public toilets meant for men and women, forcing them to often endure discomfort to avoid public humiliation.
For many years, despite many LGBTQIA+ activists demanding at least one gender-neutral toilet in public spaces, not a lot has been done to make these public spaces more comfortable for the genderfluid community, Singh told ThePrint.
So the 26-year-old took matters into his own hands and led, along with several other members and supporters of the community, a foot march from Sangam Vihar to the district magistrate’s office in South Delhi.
At the protest, Singh said that, while the Indian Parliament had granted several rights to the transgender community through the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, it had “failed” to address the basic issue of access to bathrooms.
Using bathrooms designated for men and women puts many transgender people in a difficult position, especially those who have transitioned, he told ThePrint.
“Most of them dress up like females. So when they go to female washrooms, they are not allowed to enter. And the same goes for a female who has transitioned into a male,” he explained, adding that gender-neutral toilets would considerably ease the community’s problem.
“If at this point, we have to demand toilets, we seriously need to reconsider what is happening in PM’s ‘Amrit Kaal’.”
Singh, who was the first transgender person to contest Lok Sabha elections in the Capital, but did not win, has stepped up to become the voice for the community in politics, where the LGBTQIA+ community still remains underrepresented.
“We have been completely ignored. But if we are alive, don’t we deserve this basic right? This fight is not just about having toilets, this is a fight for self-respect,” he noted.
Owning his identity
Singh moved to Delhi from his hometown in Bihar so that he could finally assert his identity as a transwoman. Back in his home state, Singh first faced isolation from classmates at school and, later, from family. But he was not ready to conform.
After getting rusticated from a private school for his gender identity, Singh was sent to a government school, where he pretended to be a boy. Later, at Delhi University’s Aryabhatta College, Singh enrolled under the male category again. There, after he won the college elections, he raised the demand for gender-neutral toilets for the first time.
“I won the election, but as soon as the administration got to know about my demands and gender orientation, they rusticated me from the University. My teachers requested the principal to let me complete my degree and I somehow managed to finish my education,” said Singh, who holds a Master’s degree in Hindi.
‘This is a revolution, it won’t stop’
In India, most of the problems for trans youth are linked to their identity. They are ostracised by their families, friends, and society, in general.
Many are forced to leave their education early on, one of the biggest stumbling blocks in their upward social mobility. According to the 2011 census, India’s transgender population is at around 4.88 lakh with a literacy rate of 56.07 percent.
Some, under financial burden, are forced to take up begging at traffic lights and performing at special events, like weddings and childbirth.
Singh did not want to end up doing that. He had grown up dreaming about becoming an IAS officer. But later, he decided to join politics and take the issues of the community directly to the Parliament.
In 2020, when Singh finally decided to get his gender recognition certificate made, his family shunned him. It gave him yet another reason to fight the elections with his “own identity”.
“I was born and I had no control over my identity. But I want to die with my real identity,” said Singh, adding that he now wants to fight for basic rights, including gender-neutral toilets, help desks for the community, and inclusion at hospitals, schools and colleges.
In Indian politics, meanwhile, Singh said that none of the parties have given transgender people any place or any opportunities. “Take BJP, it claims to be the biggest political party in the world but there isn’t a single transgender, how does the party belong to everyone then?” he questioned, adding that if trans people are given reservations in the political system, more will join Indian politics.
“These political parties will have to accept our identity. I was the first one to fight elections, in the next election I am sure that we will see at least 5 to 6 and then more than that,” he said. “This is kranti (revolution), it won’t stop.”’
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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