CHENNAI: National general secretary of All India Mahila Congress (AIMC), Apsara Reddy on Saturday filed her application seeking a party ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections. She has filed her application for contesting either from Karur or Arni constituency. She is the first transwoman to be appointed as a key functionary in the Congress.
“Having a voice for transgenders in Parliament will truly signify inclusion and equality. Often bills are curated taking little or no consideration of our state of mind and opinion. It’s imperative for members from all minorities to find place in the Parliament. Only then can we truly talk of inclusion,” Reddy told Express.
“For far too long, transwomen (we) have been told we aren’t good enough, we wouldn’t have meaningful lives and that our Journeys have been wrongly judged. I have fought long and hard for mainstreaming and raised my voice continually,” she added.
Apsara Reddy did her graduation in journalism from Monash University and post-graduation in broadcasting from City University in London. She started her career by working in BBC World Service and had worked in The Hindu, New Indian Express and Deccan Chronicle and written columns on the topics including consumerism, politics, celebrity lifestyles and education.
Whether the Congress would really walk the talk on inclusion by giving an opportunity to a transwoman to contest polls or her appointment to a party post will be limited just to tokenism, is to be seen in the coming days.