Transgender people are being killed in our country every day: Parmesh Shahani

Thiruvananthapuram: In conversation with senior journalist Arun Lakshman, transgender activist and author Kalki Subramaniam opened up about the internal struggle she had to go through during her teenage years, trying to identify herself by moving out from the existing gender norms. 

Speaking on the theme ‘We are not the other’ at the fourth edition of the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL), Kalki said, “There have been times when I thought to myself, why am I like this? At the age of 12, I remember feeling suicidal, excluded and depressed.”

“Fortunately, I had the support of my family. But, that is not the case elsewhere. If you find transgenders begging on the streets, then that means they were abandoned by their families,” she added. 

As the session progressed, author Parmesh Shehani referred to the court verdicts favouring the LGBTQ community and said, “Although there are court rulings favouring us, there is a huge difference between the verdicts and what you see in reality. There is a wide disparity between non-criminality and full equality.” 

“Every day transgender people are being killed in our country. Many are willing to work, but are not granted jobs. Research shows that when you hire queer people to your firms, you become eight percent more productive. Hiring us (LGBTQ+) is to the employer’s advantage,” he added.
 
The conversation also dug into the writing ventures of Kalki, who also recited a Tamil poem at the request of an attendee. When asked about her advent into the world of writing, Kalki said, “Writing has always been a survival tool for me. Whenever I faced bullied, I would vent all my anger through writing. All my fire came out as poetry and all my water as painting.”

The session came to a close with the speakers urging the attendees to change their mindsets, accept social inclusion and provide a better life for the LGBTQ+ community.