Jigyasa Mishra

Sarbajaya Bhattacharya

Editor

medium_01-Salma_1-Crop-JM-Transwomen_in_Varanasi_vote_against_harassment.jpg

small_01-Salma_1-Crop-JM-Transwomen_in_Varanasi_vote_against_harassment.jpg

thumbnail_01-Salma_1-Crop-JM-Transwomen_in_Varanasi_vote_against_harassment.jpg

01-Salma_1-Crop-JM-Transwomen_in_Varanasi_vote_against_harassment.jpg

In Varanasi, on
polling day, Salma found there were two queues – one for men and another for
women. The Bangali Tola polling booth had been set up in a government school,
in a narrow lane that leads to the famous Vishwanath temple.  

The 25-year-old
trans woman stood in the queue for women, but, she says, “aankhein badi ho gayi thi sabki [everyone stared]. The men
pretended not to see me and the women started grinning and whispering when I
stood at the end of their queue.” 

But Salma did not
care. “I went in anyway,” she says, “I have the right to [vote] and I used it
to bring the change we need today.” 

<a href="https://www.eci.gov.in/eci-backend/public/api/download?url=LMAhAK6sOPBp%2FNFF0iRfXbEB1EVSLT41NNLRjYNJJP1KivrUxbfqkDatmHy12e%2Fzk1vx4ptJpQsKYHA87guoLg6qlmD60BonJdDr9iLVjGJDrObJyQ1wp%2FB4NoHT3vNqtbfBs5%2FXMi%2BIkeGWxrog6Q%3D%3D">Data</a> from the Election Commission of
India (EC) shows there are 48,044 “third gender voters” in India. Despite the
sizeable number, getting a voter ID as a trans person is not always easy. In
Varanasi, says Neeti, founder-director of the non-governmental organisation
Prismatic, there are around 300 trans folk, and getting voter IDs for them has
been a struggle. “We got
voter-IDs for around 50 trans persons. But the EC mandated home visits for
verification which was a problem for many of the members of the
community who did not want people coming to their homes to verify their
gender,” she adds.

Salma, though, did not face any hurdles in
getting her voter ID made. “I don’t live with my family or anyone who doesn’t
know my identity,” she says.

Forced to drop
out of school after studying till Class 5 because her classmates bullied her
for the way she walked and talked, Salma now lives with her brother. She runs a
small business selling Banarasi sarees, earning around Rs. 10,000 a month.
Salma buys sarees from local shops and sends them to customers in other cities.


In Varanasi for
the last six years, Shamaa, a trans woman, earns her living as a sex worker. “I
was born and brought up in a village in Ballia
district. But things were too complicated there because of my gender,” she
explains. “Neighbours would nag my parents. My father would abuse me and mother
for not being normal. He blamed my mother for giving birth to someone like me,
who has no gender. So I came to Varanasi, the closest city to me.” On the day
of polling, she reached the booth early. “I wanted to avoid the crowd and
people’s stares,” Shamaa tells PARI.  

The city has also
not always been a safe space, especially for trans persons, although the Transgender
Persons (<a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/library/resource/the-transgender-persons-protection-of-rights-act-2019/">Protection of Rights</a>) Act directs governments to take steps for the
rescue, protection and rehabilitation of transgender persons and to address their needs. Neeti says they deal with five to seven cases of
harassment every month. 

The trans women PARI spoke to share their
experiences of abuse, like Salma who faced bullying, or Archana, who was
sexually harassed by her employer at the beauty parlour where she worked.
Archana went to file a complaint at the police station where the officials did
not believe her and instead threatened and humiliated her. Archana was not
shocked by their behaviour. She refers to the gang-rape of a female student at IIT-BHU
in 2024 and says, “when a woman has no safety, how can a trans woman be safe?”

The high-profile
Varanasi Lok Sabha seat was contested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who won
by a margin of 1.5 lakh against his closest rival, Ajay Rai of the Congress
party.

“It’s been ten
years since the PM took over as the Member of Parliament of our city, but has
he ever thought of us?” Salma asks. Now, she feels worried about the future.
“It looks dark. But we are keeping our eyes on this government,” she says. 

Shamaa and
Archana agree. The two trans women had voted for Narendra Modi in 2019, but
changed their choice in 2024. This time, Shama says, “I voted for change.”

Archana, a
25-year-old undergraduate student who supports herself through sex work, says,
“I was impressed by Modi’s speeches. Now I know he was only reading from a
teleprompter.” 

They feel the same way about the changes in law
and the rights guaranteed to them on paper.

“Ten years ago,
they did the bare minimum and called it a historic judgement by merely
accepting us as the third gender but only on paper,” Shamaa says, referring to
the 2014 <a href="https://nalsa.gov.in/services/social-action-litigation/participation-in-pils#:~:text=The%20landmark%20judgment%20in%20the,other%20guidelines%20to%20the%20government">judgment</a> of the Supreme Court which recognised
“transgenders to be the
third gender amongst other guidelines to the government.” These other
guidelines included reservations in educational institutions and public
employment and taking steps to frame social welfare schemes for the community. 

In 2019, the
central government passed the Transgender Persons (<a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/library/resource/the-transgender-persons-protection-of-rights-act-2019/">Protection of Rights</a>) Act, which ensured
non-discrimination and obligation in education and jobs; it did not provide for
any reservations in admission in educational institutions and public
employment. 

“We want the
government to give us reservations for every job out there – from a peon’s to
an officer’s,” says Salma.



(All
names in the story, except Neeti and Salma’s have been changed on request)

Trans women vote against harassment

వేధింపులకు వ్యతిరేకంగా వోటు వేసిన ట్రాన్స్‌ మహిళలు

அச்சுறுத்தலுக்கு எதிராக வாக்களிக்கும் திருநங்கையர்

ਜਦੋਂ ਬਦਲਾਅ ਦੀ ਉਮੀਦ ਵਿੱਚ ਟ੍ਰਾਂਸ ਔਰਤਾਂ ਨੇ ਪਾਈਆਂ ਵੋਟਾਂ

ନିର୍ଯାତନା ବିରୋଧରେ ମତଦାନ କଲେ କିନ୍ନର

पारलिंगी स्त्रियांचं मत छळापासून मुक्तीला

നീതിക്കായി വോട്ട് ചെയ്യുന്ന ട്രാൻസ് സ്ത്രീകൾ

ಕಿರುಕುಳದ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಮತ ಹಾಕಿದ ಟ್ರಾನ್ಸ್‌ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು

નફરતની રાજનીતિને ઉખાડી ફેંકવા મત આપતી પરલૈંગિક મહિલાઓ

ट्रांस माइलोगन मन अतियाचार के खिलाफ वोट दीन

जोर-जुलुम के खिलाफ ट्रांस मेहरारू लोग के भोट

ট্রান্স-নারীদের ভোট পড়ল লাঞ্ছনা আর বৈষম্যের বিরুদ্ধে

পৰিৱৰ্তনৰ হকে ভোট দিলে ৰূপান্তৰিত মহিলাই

उत्पीड़न के ख़िलाफ़ ट्रांस महिलाओं का मतदान

Varanasi

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


ଆସନ୍ତୁ ଆପଣଙ୍କୁ ପରିଚିତ କରାଇବା

ପରୀକୁ ସ୍ୱାଗତ

ଆମର ସମସ୍ତ ବିଷୟବସ୍ତୁ ସବୁବେଳେ ବ୍ୟବହାର ପାଇଁ ମାଗଣାରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ରହିବ। ଯଦି ଆମର କାମ ଆପଣଙ୍କୁ ଭଲ ଲାଗୁଛି, ଆପଣ ସ୍ୱେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀ ଭାବରେ ଆମକୁ ସହଯୋଗ କରିପାରିବେ କିମ୍ବା ଆମ କାମ ପାଇଁ ଆର୍ଥିକ ଅନୁଦାନ ପ୍ରଦାନ କରି ଆମକୁ ସାହାଯ୍ୟ କରିପାରିବେ।

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Trans women vote against harassment

In Varanasi, law and order has repeatedly failed to protect the rights of trans women or ensure their safety. In the General Elections 2024, their vote is for change

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit