THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When 28-year-old transman K R Binoy, clad in a black shirt and dhoti, asked Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala to pose for a selfie with him, the latter readily agreed.
The Congress leader went one step ahead and held the mobile phone in his hand and clicked one more snap, giving Binoy the reason to be on cloud nine.
This happened at the Rajiv Gandhi auditorium at Indira Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram after Chennithala released the logo of the newly formed Kerala Pradesh Transgender Congress (KPTC) on Wednesday.
The function saw close to a two dozen transgenders joining the party officially. KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran, Chennithala and former chief minister Oommen Chandy distributed
identity cards to the new members.
Alathur native Binoy prefers to be known as a man. It was a dream come true for Binoy when he got the identity card as a KPTC representative from former chief minister Oommen Chandy. A choreographer, Binoy has been taking dance classes for students in his native town in Palakkad district. Binoy is getting ready to undergo the gender reassignment surgery (GRS) in Ernakulam in a few months time.
Life has not been easy for Binoy ever since he realised that he wanted to evolve as
a man.
“I had done minor roles as a woman in a few films earlier, but the production controller asked me to sleep with him if I wanted to get better roles.
Hence, I left the field. I hope to get a government job so that my life as a man is secure. With the
Congress party membership, I am confident of getting our grievances addressed," Binoy told TNIE.
Arunima Zulfikar, who has been appointed the first president of KPTC, came for the function with her husband Zulfikar. Arunima is a member of Kudumbashree’s Area Development Society in Alappuzha.
She told TNIE about her bitter experiences as a CPM worker. She had served in the SFI, DYFI and later with All India Democratic Women’s Association.
“I never got any support or respect from the CPM as they looked down on me. In fact, I had been holding the party’s flag since I was three. It is not my fault that I am a transgender. They even threatened to kill me. I then felt that enough was enough," said Arunima.
On Wednesday, only two transgenders from each district had taken Congress party membership following Covid-19 protocol. The KPCC has decided to organise a mega convention of transgenders in the state once the Covid pandemic situation improves.
Parties woo transgenders
With local body elections around the corner in the state, political parties are aiming to garner maximum support of various sections of society, including the transgender community.
In February last year, the then Congress president Rahul Gandhi had appointed a transgender, Apsara Reddy, as the general secretary of All India Mahila Congress.
Three years ago, I P Binu, CPM ward councillor of Kunnukuzhy, had formed a transgender cell in the capital city. Unfortunately, a rift within weakened the organisation's work in the ward. Surya, a popular television actor and member of the State Board for Transgender Justice, told TNIE that the LDF government in the state had been rendering yeoman service to the community.
“The LDF government has been funding the GRS. So far, 10 transgenders have availed Rs 2 lakh
each towards the surgery and hormone injections. During the Covid-19 pandemic, all transgenders were provided with ration kits. They will also be getting Rs 1,000 from the welfare scheme soon,” said Surya.