A huge political statement from Naveen Patnaik
One must hand it to Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal boss Naveen Patnaik. Having already created an image for himself as the champion of women empowerment and the messiah of the deprived and excluded sections, he has now appointed transgender activist Meera Parida as the party’s vice president.
This is a huge political statement. Naveen is reinforcing his sincerity to the welfare and empowerment of the marginalised. And he is doing it smartly. A bouquet of programmes for women apart, he has pushed for 33 per cent reservation for them in the Parliament and state Assemblies. He stuck to his word and fielded women in seven Lok Sabha seats for the upcoming polls.
A couple of weeks ago, he nominated Pramila Bisoi, a 70-year-old leader of a Self Help Group (SHG) as candidate for the Aska Lok Sabha seat. This is great optics ahead of the polls. The choice of Bisoi is seen as a masterstroke. He pulled a woman from the lowest rung to offer her the seat that he and his father Biju Patnaik once held. Credit to him; he took the risk to field someone who was politically anonymous, despite her remarkable work at the grass-roots level.
However, Parida’s appointment to the prestigious position is not the first in India. There have been instances where trans people have been entrusted with important responsibilities by political parties though the number is limited. However, empowering transgender people should not be clubbed along with the emancipation of women. It could lead to deprivation of their independent identity and recognition. In the past, Naveen had the set the tone for empowerment and welfare of trans people.
In 2016, Odisha became the first state in the country to include the community in the BPL category and announce provisioning of various services for them. He must now ensure that trans persons are accepted as they are, not as an extension of any gender. Only then will there be real social inclusion and acceptance.