The population of India in 2014 was 13000 Lakhs i.e. 1.3 Billion, out of which, 30 Lakhs i.e. 3 Million identified themselves as the third gender. Despite their aggregation and mainstream welfare continuing to augment by the day, society persists in neglecting them. However, betwixt these obstacles, the third gender members have been trailblazing entrepreneurship opportunities, undertaking representation of and securing space for their community in the corporate world.
A notable example would be social activist transgender and head priestess of the Kinnar Akhada, Lakshmi Naryan Tripathi’s Kineer Services Pvt. Ltd., which is a packaged drinking water brand, also engrossed in advocacy of gender sensitization. Along with Dr. Manish Jain, Lakshmi had established this in 2018 with a goal of, in their own words, ‘bring about a paradigm shift in the lives of members of the sexual minorities’. Till date, the twain have brought employment for ample who would otherwise resort to begging or prostitution, and aspire to expand substantially to join the nation’s top water-producing brands, simultaneously providing employment to transgender at a larger scale. Moreover, having received multiple accolades, likewise, conducting copious CSR projects, the business has also appeared on Shark Tank as well as The Kapil Sharma Show and has even collaborated with Flipkart Foundation.
Another remarkable transgender-led initiative is Miss Transqueen India, founded by Reena Rai, a transgender rights activist, renowned for forming the Deepa Ardnareshwar Empowerment Foundation and garnering esteemed awards including the Naari Chetna Puraskar, Red Festival Award, Gurugram Achievers Award, Haryana Garima Awards, etc. Established in 2016, this beauty pageant aspires to become a platform as influential as the prestigious Miss Transqueen International.
Other prominent transgender personalities include Aspara Reddy, a transgender politician, journalist and activist; Manobi Bandopadhyay, a transgender academician, activist and the first to be a transgender principal; Prithika Yashini, the first transgender to be appointed as a police officer; Joyita Mondal, the first transgender judge in India and a plethora more. These pioneering spearheads champion the course toward igniting inclusivity for generations to come.
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