From margins to mainstream: Transgenders join hands with police to fight COVID-19

As many as 50 transgenders have been roped into a contingent of 1200 volunteers to assist the police in enforcing the lockdown in Tirupathur district which has reported 18 coronavirus cases

The transgenders serving as COVID-19 volunteers in Tirupathur

TIRUPATHUR: Transgenders here used to attract looks of disdain -- but not any longer.

When the transgenders, drafted into a large group of volunteers to fight COVID-19, ask those who swarm a market to follow social distancing, their counsel is heeded.

If they stop a biker and tell him not to roam around frequently, he listens to the advice seriously.

Scenes like this are common in parts of Tirupathur district nowadays. Thanks to the efforts of Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr P Vijayakumar, the transgenders are slowly getting into the mainstream from the margins of society.

“I consider this a tool for empowering them and also make them get closer to the public. When they work in coordination with the police, they will be spared of harassment in the future as well,” Vijayakumar told The New Indian Express.

As many as 50 transgenders have been roped into a contingent of 1200 volunteers to assist the police in enforcing the lockdown in Tirupathur district which has reported 18 coronavirus cases, including a woman police inspector.

The SP said, “We are employing them to regulate buyers thronging the markets and see that groceries and vegetables reach houses in containment zones.”

These people from the extremely marginalized section are more than willing to carry out such duties.

“In the initial days, we had some trouble in negotiating with the general public, but later on, it became easy for us to explain to them the need to follow the rules of the lockdown,” said Anbu Gomathi, one of the volunteers.

The volunteers start the day before 4 am every day. “We have to be at the spot by 4 am and do the duty of managing the crowd until 7 am,” Gomathi stated.

Another volunteer said this type of social activity brings them much needed social acceptance. “The general public are gradually getting closer to us and have started to treat us with consideration and respect.”

The volunteers have been drafted into awareness activities at Tirupathur town, Vaniyambadi and Jolarpet in the district.