I was only six years old when I stopped going to a girls’ school in a girl's uniform. I was a stubborn child so my father agreed to enroll me in a different school where nobody knew my real identity. I used to attend classes in a boy's uniform. That is how I managed to hide my identity of being a girl for many years.
I have spent all my life alone. I have never got motherly affection and love ever in my life. When I was six years old, my mother and father parted ways and my father went for another marriage. That led me to live with my aunt for at least 10 years. At the age of 16, I returned to live with my father and stepmother. One day, I was crying in front of a mirror, and that is when I was caught by my stepmom who asked me, "What is bothering you?"
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That was the first time I revealed my identity before anybody of not being a boy. At the age of 18, I underwent transition and got the body that I always wanted to have.
In India, everyone knows about trans women, lesbians and gays, but no one knows about trans men. When I became a transgender activist six years ago, I noticed that even those who used to raise slogans in support of the transgender community did not know anything about trans men. But society is gradually getting aware of them. Earlier, there used to talk about how the policy on the transgender community would be made but they are now being implemented. Now, things have changed drastically. There are many policies that benefit trans people.
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However, strong advocacy is still needed to change society further. If someone from a trans community goes to the police to complain, he is viewed as a sex worker. I would like to say to the people of the society to love their trans children and not hurt their feelings. They are also human beings and their hearts beat too.
(As told to Rajiv Narayan Chaturvedi)
