VICTIM OF TABOOS AND

TORTURES : TRANSGENDER
DEVIKA’S TALE OF EXCLUSION,
DEPRIVATION AND REGENRATION

Presented by

DR SUJOY PAUL
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Education
Meklignaj College, Coochbehar, West Bengal (India)
 What does it mean to be
‘transgender’
 People who are categorized as neither male nor female
but a combination of the both known as ‘third gender’

Their sense of gender

identity and gender
expression is different
from society’s MALE vs
FEMALE gender
conformation
Persons included in the list- Trans-men, Trans-women,
Gender-queers, Kinnars, Hijras, Aravanis, Jogtas, etc.
[The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2016]
STATUS OF TRANSGENDER

One of the most marginalized

groups in India

Regarded as social outcasts by

mainstream societies

Looked upon as a dreaded class

causing troubles through their
‘curse’ and ‘abusive behaviour’
 DEVIKA: A BRIEF PROFILE
•Name at Birth: Debashish Acharya (Deba)
•Place of Birth: Halisahar, North 24 Parganas
(West Bengal, India)
•Age: 28 years
•Current City : Malda (West Bengal)
•Educational Qualification: M.A. in Social Works
•Present Occupation: Embroidery & Handicrafts
•Hobby: Acting in stage dramas
 tHe UnFOLdIng OF deVIKa’s
TALE
• Assigned ‘Male’ at birth, had the feelings of a girl
• Liked • People
keeping long taunted ‘Deba’
hair, wearing for being
girls’ clothes effeminate in
and behaving appearance
like a girl and behaviour

• Father would burn her clothes and trim her hair

TAUNTED AND ABUSED IN
SCHOOL
classmates and senior students teased
and taunted ‘Deba’

Teachers disliked and ridiculed her, and

even tried to sexually abuse her in the
pretext of giving free tuitions

Got no financial grants for studies when father

refused to pay the educational expenses
 Parted from home
Unable to bear with insults and tortures, and fully
determined to live the life of a Transgender, Devika left
home for unknown destinations

Arrived Malda town with support from a

friend and rented a low budget room
REJECTION IN THE JOB MARKET

Private sectors are not

Govt. jobs are scanty and
willing to accept a TG as
hard to qualify for
employee

Suddenly terminated
Yet to find any respectable
from a contractual job in
job assignment
a Govt. project
 EVICTED FROM RESIDENCE
Social stigma and taboos have not allowed Devika
to settle at a place for long

Landlords are
hardly willing to
offer any room
to a TG tenant

Evicted five times in six years from the rented homes

 THE SAVING GRACE
Her ‘loving and caring’
mother supported her
all throughout her
educational endeavour

The high school Principal

offered her everything she
needed to pursue education
even after she left school
 TALE OF REGENERATION
 Unlike other TG members Devika has not resorted
to begging or prostitution

• Worked in a
Govt. project for
a few years by
virtue of her
higher academic
qualification

Job gone, but she’s firmly on path of self-esteem

and dignity
 TALE OF REGENERATION
 Earns a respectable livelihood through embroidery
and handicrafts

•Does not feel totally excluded like other TG members

 TALE OF REGENERATION
Acting in stage dramas
as part of a
mainstream theatre
group has given her
social identity

 Active in social media

platforms with a huge
number of people
 Always up for social justice
for people of the
transgender community
THE INHERENT OPTIMISM
We are human.
We are not perfect.
We are alive.
We try things.
We make mistakes.
We stumble. We fall.
We get hurt. We rise again.
We try again. We keep learning,
We keep growing, And…
We are thankful for this
Priceless opportunity called LIFE.
 CONCLUDING REMARKS
 Victims of social taboos, prejudices and stigmas
can lift themselves by virtue of their own acts and
achievements if they remain optimistic towards life

Providing social acceptance and ensuring legal rights are

key to regeneration of Transgender people
QUESTIONS & SUGGESTIONS