Seema, a 33-year-old transgender living in conservative India, displays a picture of a younger self dressed as a woman. Having no legal recognition, Seema has adopted prostitution as a means to support her family.
Watch Seema’s day unfold in a series of nine photos. Then leave your thoughts and reactions in COMMENTS.
Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Getting Ready
Seema puts on a bra in preparation to go out on the streets of New Delhi to work.
The transgender community in India, known as hijras, number up to a million people and occupy a unique role in society. On the one hand, they are called upon to offer blessings during auspicious occasions like weddings and at births. The rest of the time, they are not only ignored but often ostracized from society.
Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Home Life
Seema plucks her facial hair as her wife prepares a meal in their home. India’s relationship with its hijra population goes back more than 4,000 years. Traditionally, hijras are believed to possess powers to grant good luck and bestow fertility. Seema’s two children are evidence of her powers of fertility.
Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Outfit Transformation
In the back of a local NGO that supports sexual minorities, Seema changes into a dress.
Rose Venkatesan, India’s first transgender television host, plans to launch a political party—the Sexual Liberation Party of India—to formulate and push an agenda favorable to women’s and LGBT rights.
Among other things on her agenda is a comprehensive review of the Indian Penal Code, legalization of prostitution and annulling laws restrictive to sexual freedom, including those dealing with adultery and homosexuality, which she feels helps abusers.
Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Face Complete
Seema, in complete make-up, is ready to leave for the night. Police harassment is a given for hijras, as is abuse and physical attack from street gangs, known as goondas. Sexual assaults and robberies against hijras are rarely reported to authorities.
Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Happy Dance
Finally feeling the comfort of the transformation to the self she identifies as, Seema celebrates by dancing in front of a few friends. HIV rates are high among hijras. Infection is often complicated by a medical system that dithers over the issue of assigning transgender persons to male- or female-designated wards.
Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Family Life
Seema spends meal time with her wife and two young children. The stuggles Indian society imposes on transgenders make for a hard life for a hijra’s family. Many hijras beg for a living, offering to bestow blessings on train passengers and people stalled in traffic in exchange for small sums of money. However, begging generally does not make enough money to support a family.
Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Traditional Woman
Dressed in traditional Indian garb, Seema’s feminine transformation is all part of preparing for work. Despite continuing prejudice against hijras, India’s sexual minorities have better social protections than even a year ago. Gay sex was decriminalized by the Delhi High Court last July, and hijras are allowed to list their gender as “other” on ID cards.
Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
On The Streets
Sadly Seema’s day is just beginning. She works the streets of New Delhi as a prostitute, a situation very common in India’s transgender community. Again, from Global Post:
Discrimination has prevented most hijras from obtaining decent education, jobs and housing, say transgender and human rights activists. The vast majority live in slums and, with limited job opportunities, resort to sex work or begging.
