INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
experience, 30-year-old Hiranmay Dey underwent a Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) to become Suchitra Dey last year
But her battles only grew harder.Suchitra Dey, who has a double Masters in English and Geography, says she was asked questions about her
breasts, sexuality and ability to give birth during interviews at various Kolkata schools."A male principal asked me whether I can conceive
a child after intercourse while a female principal in another reputable school almost threatened me to change the credentials if I wanted a
job there", says Suchitra Dey.Principals of well-known Kolkata schools have time and again asked humiliating and irrelevant questions about
gender instead of subject fields, she says.Suchitra Dey, who has been facing such humiliation from her school, said, "I see that the mindset
of people about transgenders has not changed yet
Teachers are considered future generation makers
If the educated people have this kind of mindset then what can one expect from the others"Abuse and exploitation of transgender people is
Often thrown out of home by their families, many are denied jobs, and forced into sex work, begging, or dancing at weddings to make ends
meet.Suchitra Dey, who is also an active member of the LGBT forums in West Bengal, urged the society to accept the sexual minorities like
her with more humility.Calling herself as "one of the most educated transgenders in India", she has written to the West Bengal Human Rights
Commission seeking intervention in the matter.A resident of Thakurpukur, Suchitra Dey lives with her mother and asks, "She is an old lady
So I need a job to sustain both of us
If every section of the society rejects us, then how will we live"The Supreme Court in 2014 recognised transgenders as a 'third gender'
Despite the verdict, the discrimination in society is still rampant.
