CHENNAI: Plenty of questions flooded the mind of Swetha Sudhakar C, founder of Born2Win, an NGO for education, employment and encouragement of the trans community and the other members of the organisation when they birthed the idea to conduct an award ceremony to applaud the accomplishments of the trans community. ‘Will we be able to do this on our own? Will we be able to bring together members of the community? Will we get sponsors for handling the finances?’
But they marched forth with the torch of perseverance. After a decade of support and award ceremonies, when the 10th edition of Trans Achievers Awards was conducted recently at Rani Seethai Hall, Swetha said, “There are a lot of achievers in my community living in different parts of the country. I wanted to bring them to the forefront.” The ceremony which presented awards to 30 achievers was sponsored by Med Mix, Lincoln Law Associates, in collaboration with SPIC, Muthaiya Trust and Naturals.
Making an impact
Through the years, the organisation has awarded 203 individuals from the trans community and 53 supportive family members and allies. IAS officer Dr J Radhakrishnan, guest of the evening shared,
“The organisation always does the ceremony differently every year. On April 15, 2014, National Legal Services Authority Vs Union of India, declared trans people the third gender and affirmed that the fundamental rights granted under the Constitution of India will be equally applicable to them, and gave them the right to self-identification of their gender as male, female or third gender. Through the organisation, Swetha is bringing the members of the community into the limelight. Every achiever craves recognition but not everyone might have the platform for that. Organising a function consistently for 10 years is not a small thing,” adding that he was glad that the community sees him as an ally.
He said, “In the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, I believe that A is not only for asexuals but also for allies who are supporting them. From the government’s side, we want to do something for the community. Now I am with a PDS job, for those who don’t have ration cards under the Antyodaya scheme, 35kg rice cards will be prioritised. We are holding special counters to make it happen.”
The achievers were chosen by the jury members of the organisation. The categories included Employee of the Year, Social Welfare Activist of the Year, Social Worker of the Year, Spiritual Leader of the Year, Model of the Year, Dancer of the Year, Documentary Filmmaker of the Year, Trans Couple of the Year, Trans Ally Mother of the Year and also recognition for trailblazers in their respective field of work.
Sanjana Chandran who received the classical dancer award shared, “If I am also getting a chance to receive an award amongst these veterans gathered here, then that is because of the hard work of the community members who fight for our rights. They have carved us a path and given us freedom.”
All the winners agreed that the award is an encouragement to work individually and for the community. Next year, the organisation hopes to partner with more companies and conduct a grand ceremony with more achievers while also constantly supporting the members of the community.