Pics: Joshwa D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JD)

Mangaluru, Jul 12: To help transgenders in India, a transgender who originates from Mangaluru has launched a website which she feels will provide holistic help and act as a support forum round the clock.

33-year-old Neysara Rai, who also runs a business in Mangaluru, launched the website www.transgenderindia.com here on Tuesday July 12. The website has already started functioning.

Explaining about the need for the website in the city, Rai said that there are about 30 lac transgenders in India but as per the union government, this population is only five lac. "We do not know where they are. They are living obscurely in their families trying to hide the transition they face. The only role model a young educated transperson sees in the community now is either a person begging on the streets or engaged as a sex worker. It is highly important to change that demotivating perception and bring positive role models of the community to the limelight," Rai said.

Speaking about the challenges that transgenders face, Rai said, "When a transperson comes out to someone, the immediate reaction they get is 'So are you a Hijra (eunuch)?'. For a trans woman, Hijra is a very derogatory term to be used, just like it is wrong to call a gay a Hijra, it is very offensive to call a transwoman Hijra.

"The website provides a forum for all the transgenders all over the country and will be an important tool as the first line of action to fight discrimination and increase acceptance within families for transgender people," Rai added.

Another transgender by the name Bubbles who is persuing medicine in the city said that the transgenders need separate hostels as they are harrassed by both men and women.