Akkai Padmashali is an Indian transgender activist, motivational speaker, and

singer. She is the founder of Ondede, an LGBTQ rights group supported by the
Fund.
Early life
Akkai was born a male, into a lower middle-class family situated in Bangalore. She
had begun to show femineity at a young age, wearing her sisters’ accessories and
her mothers’ saris. By the time she was eight she had realized that she was not a
boy, and this notion was not received well by her family. As a result, she was
abused by her parents. Akkai even suffered bullying at school.
This took a heavy toll on her mental health, and at the mere age of 11, Akkai
attempted suicide. She has always been very vocal about her struggles to motivate
those around her to do the same. She has also opened up about her experience with
rape and sexual harassment and has actively spoken out against sexual violence.
A turning point in her life was when she met a group of transgender people in
Cubbon Park. She felt a sense of belonging amongst these people. She describes
this encounter in her memoir, quote “This was the family I belonged to—not the
so-called biological family that I had been born into, in which I was not accepted,
in which I was constantly subjected to violence.”
Around the age of 16, Padmashali began to engage in sex work. She has never
been ashamed of taking up this profession, though it is considered a ‘social taboo’.
After 4 years of sex work, she eventually decided to quit as she pursued her desire
to contribute to the society at large.
She went on to join the hijra community. She speaks highly of her time there and
praises the community that is often looked down upon in society. She states in her
book, quote, “Hijra culture is not about the class or caste that you come from. It’s
built on your femininity. If you are feminine, you are accepted. It’s very special.”
The activist aspires to end the prejudice and discrimination against hijra culture
and aims to reduce the segregation of the community from mainstream society. Her
social movements and work with social organizations and the government has
contributed to this cause.

Activism
Padmashali started her career of activism at Sangama, an LGBT Right group based
out of Bangalore where she was motivated to inspire many more minds. Since
then, she has been fighting a battle for ensuring dignity and rights of transgender
persons as well sexual minority.
She founded the organization named ‘Ondede’, a human rights organization to
advocate the rights of children, women and sexual minorities
Her renowned protests include filing a petition in the Supreme Court of India
against Section 377 stating that the colonial law is violative of the constitutional
rights. She was also against the Centre's proposed Transgender Persons (Protection
of Rights) Bill 2017.
For her work in activism she has received the Rajyotsava Prashasti, the second
highest civilian honor of the state of Karnataka, and an honorary doctorate from
the Indian Virtual University for Peace and Education.
Akkai has spoken internationally about transgender rights and was invited to meet
with former U.S. president Barack Obama when he visited India in 2017. She was
the first trans woman invited to be part of the town hall.

A Small Step in a Long Journey (2010)

Padmashali wrote a memoir including her struggles in the past and her journey of
self-acceptance, identity and sexuality. She talks about her lifelong fight against
society's’ norms and social construct, that still continues today.