A few weeks ago, news of the Kerala government providing jobs to 21 transgender people in the Kochi metro made headlines. We all lauded the government's attempt to include the trans community into mainstream society and give them a chance to lead a normal life. Sitting behind our computer desks dreamily looking at the horizon from our windows, we felt sufficiently satisfied India is moving forward, change is happening, the government is taking the right measures towards creating an inclusive society.

(C) BBC

But we somehow never wondered about the happily ever after'. Out of the 21 transgender people hired by Kochi Metro, 9 resigned within the first month. The reason: they couldn't find accommodation as no house-owner was ready to rent them a flat.

One 9 June 2015, the appointment of Manabi Bandopadhyay as India's first transgender college principal made headlines. The progressive move was hailed as a gamechanger. But after a year and a half, Manobi resigned due to non-cooperation from a section of colleagues and students, and tremendous mental pressure due to the harrassment.

(C) ET

"All of my colleagues went against me. Some of the students went against me. I tried to bring back discipline and an atmosphere of education in the college. Most probably, that is why they went against me. I always got co-operation from the local administration, but never got it from my colleagues and students," she had told media.

"I feel tired due to the agitation and gherao by the students and teachers. I faced a lot of legal notices from their end. I had come to this college with new hopes and dreams but I was defeated...," she also said.

(C) Reuters (Image for representational purpose only)

Even after repeated efforts by NGOs and now the government, change is too slow to come. Change has to happen at a grassroot level at the level of ideology, at the level of mindset. We don't live in isolation; we are not just our jobs; we thrive in a society on the basis of an identity an identity that is normalized on a routine basis. It is normalized when we step out of the house and buy vegetables, it is normalized when we sit amongst colleagues and have lunch.

These regular validations of a normalized identity aren't afforded to the transgender community they are perceived as different than what we have created as the normal'. Our heterosexual identities are validated every moment we spend in the public eye while theirs is questioned with every routine action they take.

Of course, the job grants is a great step towards giving them better opportunities, but along with it, there is an equally dire need to see that those very jobs don't become another platform for oppression and discrimination.

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Hired By The Government, Fired By The Society: Being Transgender In India - MensXP.com