Maharashtra's first trans advocate says ‘people still refuse to sit next to us on trains’

After scaling innumerable hurdles Pawan Yadav became the first transgender lawyer in Maharashtra and second in India Despite the achievement the 30yearold says the journey ahead is equally arduous considering the way society looks at trans people The 30yearold who lives with parents at Goregaon has vowed to give free legal support to the transgender community Yadav also wants to become an IPS officerThere are over 48000 transgender people in Maharashtra ldquoI became the first advocate among them in the state and second in India after Satyashri Sharmilardquo Yadav said ldquoI have got myself enrolled in the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa I will start practising in Dindoshi court from next year I will try to give full legal support to the people of my community as they are subject to cruelty and social discriminationrdquo Yadav said A native of Jaunpur district in Uttar Pradesh Yadav plans to go to Allahabad to prepare for UPSC exams to fulfil IPS dreamsPawan Yadav centre wants to start an NGO to help trans people PicHanif PatelYadav said the Maharashtra government must formulate a scheme to uplift the transgender community ldquoToday none from our community possesses an identity card to prove that we belong to the third gender Every time we face issues with police and in daily lifehellipwe are always asked for proof to justify that we are transgender people At the police station we are asked to pull down our pants to prove that we belong to a third gender which has been recognised in Indiardquo Yadav said ldquoIt would really be helpful if the state government gives us identity cards so that our community people may not face social embarrassment and cruelty like going naked to prove our genderhellipwe can flash our Icards to have our sayrdquoNo transgender wards in hospitalsYadav listed a host of discriminations that are part of daily life There is no separate facility in hospitals public toilets and trains for the third gender ldquoYou should not be surprised to know that in many cases doctors are confused to administer us medicines They ask us which medicine they should prescribe for our health issuesrdquoYadav said ldquoThere are separate wards for males and females but not for transgenders in hospitals be it government or privaterun Trans people have been sexually abused in a hospital bed in many cases across Indiahellipwe need a separate transgender wardrdquoThe advocate also feels trans persons deserve a special coach on cityrsquos local trains ldquoWhenever I have travelled on local trains I have been subjected to cruelty and social discrimination The copassengers never want to sit by me so I sit on the floorhellipthe ministry of railways must look into thisrdquoThe community may have got legal status but amenities as basic as a toilet remain a dream for trans persons said Yadav ldquoThe government has not made even a single toilet for transgenders This is a basic needhellip we face a lot of difficulties using public toiletsrdquoHome truthAccording to the young lawyer renting an apartment is a night for the community members ldquoTrans people are good when they come to your place for blessings but the same community becomes ugly when they want to use their premises on rent for residential purposes Itrsquos the same as people like to have honey but hate honeybeeshellip we do not easily get a house on rent we have to go to police stations and surprisingly we have to apprise senior officers of the Transgender Act I am sure most police officers have not been made aware of this Actrdquo said YadavYadav was sexually abused by a family friend in childhood ldquoBut that horrific incident did not stop me from studying law People threw muck at me they pelted stones at me but I made a wall out of those stones to shield myself Today I can fight for our rights and empower transgender peoplerdquo said YadavThe IPS aspirant is planning to open a nonprofit organisation to raise awareness of the communityrsquos rights apart from urging the government to sensitise police and doctors ldquoI have learnt that the central government is dispensing huge funds for the direct benefit of trans people but none from the community is getting a single pennyThird gender people have to go out for lsquobadhairsquo on local trains traffic signals and do sex business to earn a livelihood Why has the fund not reached its beneficiaries directly Making a law is not enough we need proper implementation and I am definitely going to raise itrdquo said Yadav Yadavrsquos childhood friend Mona is also a trans person Both of them got their sex change operations in PuneYadav recognised her feminine feelings when she was in Std VIII ldquoI was subjected to cruelty and social discrimination in school I would choose to play with girls and whenever I planned to go in a boysrsquo group they would tease mehellipI always wanted to become a woman but my body features were similar to boysrdquo Yadav saidBefore pursuing law Yadav had worked in the quality control department of a private chemical company in Vashi ldquoI also worked in a project for the Bullet Train in Maharashtra saved money for my sex change operationrdquo48000No of trans people in Maharashtra