Jaipur, Rajasthan

Twenty-year-old Meera has at last found a safe space where she can be herself and get on with her life, without being constantly humiliated and heckled. Meera is one of the 15 people from the transgender community who have been provided a safe place to live by Nai Bhor Sanstha, a non profit that works for the rights of the transgender community in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

In July earlier this year, as part of a central government project, Garima Greh, a shelter home for the transgender community, was set up in the state capital Jaipur.

“We have people from Ganganagar, Sikar, Nagaur, Kota and Bharatpur districts living here. They get free boarding and food, besides the opportunity to attend training courses on cooking, tailoring, make-up, dance, etc.,” Pushpa Mai, the head of Nai Bhor Sanstha, told Gaon Connection. There are also plans to set up a call centre in the premises, she added.

Pushpa Bai hoped this meant new beginnings for the transgender community where it could be integrated into mainstream society.

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But it was not easy to start the shelter home, said Pushpa Bai. “We hunted across the city for a place and were turned away time and again when home owners came to know we were from the transgender community. We even faced hostility from others in the colonies,” she narrated.

Indian government’s Garima Greh Yojana

But, on November 25 last year, a beacon of hope was lit when the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, launched the Garima Greh Yojana for the transgender community. Thawar Chand Gehlot, minister of social justice and empowerment, inaugurated a shelter home in Vadodara, Gujarat. There was also an announcement about launching a national portal where members of the transgender community could apply for their identity cards.

Apart from Vadodara and Jaipur, there are plans to open similar shelter homes in New Delhi, Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Manipur, Chennai, Raipur and Mumbai, as well. It is hoped that at least 25 transgender people can be rehabilitated in each of the centres.  

The Garima Greh initiative has rekindled the hopes and dreams of many from the transgender community. 

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“I have had horrible experiences in school, college and at the private firm where I worked,” Ivansh, who is pursuing an MA in psychology, told Gaon Connection. The 23-year-old is from Ganganagar and has been staying at Garima Greh in Jaipur for a little over a month. Ivansh hopes to become a counsellor to help the transgender community. 

Eligibility for Garima Greh Yojana

Garima Greh is a move towards enabling the transgender community to live a life of dignity without discrimination and help them integrate into the mainstream by providing them a safe space to stay and learn new skills.

According to the department of social justice and empowerment, any transgender with an identity card or certificate is eligible to the facilities offered by Garima Greh. The certificate can be obtained from the district magistrate’s office or from the block office. If the transgender person has undergone a sex change, then they will have to get a certificate from the hospital authorities.

Once the papers and identity of the transgender person is verified, counselling and other facilities are offered at Garima Greh.

Jaipur’s Garima Greh

According to Nai Bhor Sanstha, last year the Jaipur Municipal Council gave 600 transgenders Rs 3,500 from the social justice department and the labour and employment department. The national institute of social defense on its part gave each transgender Rs 1,500, both in 2020, and this year in 2021. This year, Jaipur Municipal Council gave 600 transgenders Rs 1,000 each.

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Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot announced an upliftment fund for the transgender community in the 2021 state budget, and announced the allocation of Rs 100 million for their welfare of which Rs 89.8 million has been sanctioned.

In addition, under the (Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, the Social Justice & Empowerment Department has proposed that a transgender protection cell be instituted in the Office of the Director General of Police. The chief minister has approved of this proposal.

Besides providing protection to the transgender community and safeguarding their rights, this cell will also coordinate between the State Level Transgender Justice Board and the district level transgender committees. A six-member team will be appointed consisting of  a police inspector, a sub-inspector of police and two constables, besides a counsellor and a data entry operator.  

As per the 2011 census, there were 16,517 transgender people in Rajasthan. But in the last ten years, there has been an increase in the numbers, say members of Nai Bhor, who peg their current population at more than 100,000. According to the state election commission, for the 2018 Vidhan Sabha election, there were 246 transgender people who registered to vote.

Read the story in Hindi.