Transgender Rights in Tamil Nadu
Encyclopedia
Transgender
people are called hijras
in India
and are often discriminated against in jobs forcing them to resort to begging
and prostitution
. They meet in Koovagam
, a village in the Ulundurpet taluk in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu
in the Tamil
month of Chitrai (April/May) for an annual festival which takes place for fifteen days.
Tamil Nadu
has an estimated population of 30,000 transgender people. It has made great strides in trying to integrate transgender people into society. This includes welfare schemes initiated by the Government and acceptance of transgender people into the mainstream media
and film
industry.
(a state in South India
) established a transgender welfare board in April 2008. Social welfare minister will serve as the president of the board. This effort is touted to be the first in India and even in the world. The government has also started issuing separate food ration cards for transgender
people.
In additional effort to improve the education of transgender people, Tamil Nadu
government
also issued an order on May 2008 to create a third gender for admissions to government colleges.
The Government has also decided to conduct a census on the transgender population in order to issue identity cards.
called Rose
. The programme is called "Ippadikku Rose
", translated into Yours Truly, Rose.
Karpaga
, a transgender person born in Erode
, Tamil Nadu
performs a lead role in a new Tamil movie "Paal", thus becoming the first in India
ever to achieve such a milestone.
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
people are called hijras
Hijra (South Asia)
In the culture of South Asia, hijras or chakka in Kannada, khusra in Punjabi and kojja in Telugu are physiological males who have feminine gender identity, women's clothing and other feminine gender roles. Hijras have a long recorded history in the Indian subcontinent, from the antiquity, as...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and are often discriminated against in jobs forcing them to resort to begging
Begging
Begging is to entreat earnestly, implore, or supplicate. It often occurs for the purpose of securing a material benefit, generally for a gift, donation or charitable donation...
and prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. They meet in Koovagam
Koovagam
Koovagam is a village in the Ulundurpettai taluk in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu. It is famous for its annual festival of transgender and transvestite individuals, which takes fifteen days in the Tamil month of Chitrai ....
, a village in the Ulundurpet taluk in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
in the Tamil
Tamil calendar
The Tamil calendar is a solar and sidereal Hindu calendar used in Tamil Nadu. It is also used in Pondicherry , and by the Tamil population in Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. It is also used by Telugu speaking people in Tamil Nadu...
month of Chitrai (April/May) for an annual festival which takes place for fifteen days.
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
has an estimated population of 30,000 transgender people. It has made great strides in trying to integrate transgender people into society. This includes welfare schemes initiated by the Government and acceptance of transgender people into the mainstream media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
industry.
Welfare schemes
In a pioneering effort to solve the problems faced by transgender people, the government of Tamil NaduTamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
(a state in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
) established a transgender welfare board in April 2008. Social welfare minister will serve as the president of the board. This effort is touted to be the first in India and even in the world. The government has also started issuing separate food ration cards for transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
people.
In additional effort to improve the education of transgender people, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
also issued an order on May 2008 to create a third gender for admissions to government colleges.
The Government has also decided to conduct a census on the transgender population in order to issue identity cards.
Media
In a monumental push in breaking taboos, the Tamil cable channel Vijay TV started a talk show hosted by a trans womanTrans woman
A trans woman is a male-to-female transsexual or transgender person and the term trans woman is preferred by some individuals over various medical terms. Other non-medical terms include t-girl, tg-girl and ts-girl...
called Rose
Rose, TV Host
Rose is a TV talk show host in Vijay TV in Tamil Nadu, India. She is the first transgender individual ever to host a TV talk show in India. The talk show, Ippadikku Rose deals with current affairs touching a wide variety of social issues including traditions, taboos, rebels and culture.-Personal...
. The programme is called "Ippadikku Rose
Ippadikku Rose
Ippadikku Rose is a TV talk show hosted by Rose telecast in Vijay TV from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The talk show deals with current affairs touching a wide variety of social issues including traditions, taboos, rebels and culture. This is the first TV show in India hosted by a transgender...
", translated into Yours Truly, Rose.
Karpaga
Karpaga
Karpaga is an actress who makes her debut in a Tamil movie called "Paal". She is the first transgender ever in India to perform a leading role in a mainstream movie.-Personal life:...
, a transgender person born in Erode
Erode
Erode is a city, a municipal corporation and the headquarters of Erode district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.It is situated at the center of the South Indian Peninsula, about southwest from the state capital Chennai and on the banks of the rivers Cauvery and Bhavani, between 11° 19.5"...
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
performs a lead role in a new Tamil movie "Paal", thus becoming the first in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
ever to achieve such a milestone.