Beyond Transgender Day of Remembrance: Stories of 5 Transgender People Who Dedicated Their Lives to Transgender Liberation

Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicide, anti-trans violence, institutional murder

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) is observed each year on November 20 to remember transgender people we have lost due to violence directed against them. The day was first commemorated in 1999 Rita Hestera black transgender woman who lost her life to anti-transgender violence. Since then, TDoR has become an occasion and platform where trans lives are represented, honored, and remembered for their efforts and sacrifices that challenge systems of oppression.

Recently, TDoR has become the “only” occasion where people come together to recognize the challenges faced by the transgender community. The erasure of trans and queer activists, their struggles and their contributions perpetuates transphobia and trivializes the trans and queer liberation movements as their memory should not be limited to a mere day. Below are the names and stories of some of these trans activists and individuals who dedicated their lives for the liberation and freedom of trans people in India, but were institutionally murdered by the state and society.

1. Reshma of Kashmir

Kashmiri Reshma, as she is popularly called, was named Abdul Rashid at birth and was later given the name ‘Reshma’ when a video of her singing the song Haye Haye Wasiey went viral on social media. The Kashmiri trans icon and singer deceased in 2022 after battling cancer.

Source: BBC

As a transgender person born in the 1950s, Reshma faced this Transphobia from a young age as she was bullied at school for speaking and dressing femininely, which shaped her view of the world. Due to the constant bullying and harassment, Reshma dropped out of school in the fifth grade and learned to sew or tailor clothes, while her family rejected her talent for singing.

Throughout her life, Resham advocated for the welfare of Kashmir’s marginalized Hijra, or eunuch, community, which includes both transgender and intersex people. As the Hijra community is often stereotyped and shamed by society, social stigma forces them and restricts them to professions such as matchmaking, prostitution, dancing and singing at weddings, and Reshma used her talent and fame as a singer to gain social acceptance for the trans community. She used her platform to speak out about the violence and marginalization the community faces as it continues to fight for its identity and existence, becoming a symbol of hope for the trans community in Kashmir.

2. Anannyah Kumari Alex

Anannyah Kumari Alex was the one first transgender person to contest the Kerala assembly elections when she filed the nomination on behalf of Democratic Social Justice Party (DSJP) from Vengara constituency. However, she was psychologically harassed by the leaders of the Democratic Social Justice Party, which led to her death to withdraw their name from participating in the elections. She was that too first radio jockey in KeralaStage show host and celebrity makeup artist who fought for the rights of the transgender community after facing discrimination at a young age.

Source: TNM

Anannyah died by suicide in 2021. The Complications that arose after her “botched” gender confirmation surgery were not treated by the doctors. Although she repeatedly complained of medical negligence after the operation, the medical association dismissed the allegations, which reflect the lack of awareness and sensitization towards transgender people in the Indian healthcare system. Her father claimed that “the hospital management even attacked her after she complained about medical negligence.”

Anannyah’s death is a reminder that inadequate healthcare for the transgender community is a form of violence against transgender people and can be described as “institutional murder” as it leads to their deaths.

3. Sangeetha

Sangeetha was a prominent transgender activist and president of the Coimbatore Transgender Association, which took brutal action murdered in 2020 at the age of 60. She dedicated her life to the welfare of the economically weaker sections of society, especially the trans community, as they face discrimination at work based on their identity.

She worked in the catering industry for more than 15 years and was one of the founders of the cavei Trans Kitchen in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, which employed members of the trans community who had lost their livelihoods due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While trans activists have called on the police and the Tamil Nadu government to take proactive measures and catch the perpetrators, Sangeetha is yet to get justice as her killers remain unknown and at large.

4. Praveen Nath

Praveen Nath belonged to Kerala first trans man bodybuilder who died by suicide in 2021 after being subjected to transphobia in the form of cyberbullying. The media’s insensitive and transphobic behavior pushed Nath to the brink as he and his wife Rishana Ayshu, a transgender woman and winner of the Miss Malabar pageant, faced extreme cyber harassment and trolling due to their relationship.

Source: The Quint

As Social Justice Minister R. Bindu said“Praveen Nath is a reminder of a kind of lazy journalism that is complicit in this ignorance, he is a martyr.” Various Malayalam media outlets ran transphobic stories focusing on Nath and Ayshu’s marriage after Nath posted a social media post shared a very personal moment with the world.

Although they immediately retracted the post and appealed to the media to stop publishing fake and transphobic news, the media houses continued to report, giving the transphobes the opportunity to further harass Nath online.

5. Dakshayani

Dakshayani was 17 years old Trans girl murdered by her brother in Thuttampatti village in Salem district of Tamil Nadu. Her brother Selvaraj was ashamed of her trans identity and viewed her as a disgrace to his family and relatives, which led him to take the extreme step of murdering her. Since Dakshayani was still a minor when she fled to Chengalpattu to escape the abuse, the trans community had no choice but to inform the police, who returned her to her abusive birth family.

The lives of young transsexuals, especially minors, are more diverse prone to violence as they are legally required to live with their biological families. Because the Transgender Rights Act of 2019 does not recognize transgender communities as families, it forces transgender children to continue living with a family that uses violence and abuses them. Over and beyond, Minor trans and queer adults cannot receive the support they need from queer communities and organizations due to legal regulations that place them under the care of their parents or family members, who may disregard their identity and not consent to the care and assistance required.

Upholding and honoring the sacrifices of trans and queer people who have spent their lives fighting for their rights and freedoms is part of trans and queer liberation. Their sacrifices and stories remind us of the importance of resisting and protesting the oppressive structure of society that promotes gender-based, sexual and caste-based violence.