NEW DELHI: When Dev, 23, left his home in Haryana early this year, he was sceptical of the life that lay ahead. On Tuesday, he will be starting at his new job in Sonipat.
Dev is among six transmen who were placed with Amazon after a training programme run by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
“I am feeling so good that I will be able to have a job. I will be able to finally lead a life that I have been wanting to. At home, I lived in fear. I am being treated as a man here which makes me feel great. Here, I am called Dev which is how I want to identify myself. I really need the job and would want to establish myself,” said Dev.
“Though my family was not against me dressing like a boy, they started looking for alliances for me. That’s when I had no option but to leave home. I would be working in the packaging department at Amazon,” said Dev.
Kaustav (name changed), who identifies as a transman and was got a placement alongside Dev shared a similar story. “My family does not know yet I have got the job. I am doing my B.Com in private and will do the job alongside. It will give my life a boost,” said Kaustav.
This is a first of its kind placement for transmen following the month-long training, said Simran Arora, consultant transgender, National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. “It is important to find placements for those being trained. After the performances are assessed by the company of the recent recruits, we will try to pitch for more placements for the rest of our trainees. The training programme was conducted in March,” said Arora.
The issue of finding employment was flagged by callers at the helpline launched for the transgender community in April. Callers had reported depression due to social humiliation, anxiety due to increased social isolation, job loss and financial stress amid the lockdown