Mumbai-based trans activist: Unwelcome in women’s or men’s wards; just give us separate ward

Hamari majboori samjhohellip we also want to lead a normal life Social stigma needs to be broken for the equality of trans peoplerdquo said a transgender activist According to the activist trans people have been facing discrimination in every walk of life despite the Centre implementing the Transgender Persons Act in 2019Transgender people have unanimously demanded a separate help desk at all public places like hospitals police stations toilets etc Other than general healthcare needs the third gender people who undergo certain operations for breast implants and Sex Reassignment Surgeries SRS face health complications for which they need to regularly visit hospitals But there is no separate ward for them in Mumbai and adjacent districtslsquoHide identity for treatmentrsquoTransgender activist Advocate Dr Pawan Yadav visited a hospital in Goregaon East where she was asked to conceal her identity for treatment ldquoThe help desk person used lsquoMrrsquo before my name When I objected another receipt was made with lsquoMsrsquo I told them I am transgender and was told no transgender has ever visited the hospital I was made to pay R330 for each receipt and lost R660 I had to return without getting treatmentrdquo Yadav Indiarsquos first transgender doctorate social welfare saidYadav was forced to go to a chemist shop and get medicines without a prescription ldquoI know itrsquos not advisable but what to dordquo she saidNot taken seriouslyAccording to Yadav even the Mumbai police donrsquot take their complaints seriously ldquoWe demand a separate helpline numberrdquo she saidYadav alleged that many trans people are slipping into depression as they do not receive proper medical treatment ldquoThe government must make a provision to give us a separate ward at every state hospitalrdquoThere are also no separate washrooms for trans people at public places ldquoWe have to enter the womenrsquos washroom to relieve ourselves but we are not femaleshellip we have our own identity but as there is no facility we are forced to compromiserdquo Yadav saidldquoA districtwise panel should be formed to address our issues We want our presence in the Mohalla Community Why should we be knocking on the doors of any other social activists for help when we are capable of fighting for our own rightsrdquo Yadav addedOther discrimination casesLike Dr Yadav other trans people have faced social discrimination at Kalwabased Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital The social groupmdashKinnar Asmita Foundationmdashhas written to its dean Dr Rakesh Barot seeking a separate ward ldquoOur community faces a lot of discrimination in the hospital Men and women get uncomfortable when there are patients from our community Transgender patients also get uncomfortable so we wrote a letter and the dean has promised some actionrdquo said Simran Siha of Kinnar AsmitaAccording to a transgender person people of the community usually have to visit either Sion hospital or J J hospital as they have separate wards there ldquoBut it is not always possible to travel so far Hence we demanded a separate ward in Kalwa hospitalrdquo she said After a ward was set up in Ulhasnagarrsquos Central Hospital the community is optimisticAnother victim of discrimination said she visited Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital some months ago for treatment where she was initially put in the womenrsquos emergency ward ldquoThis made the women uncomfortable and I was shifted to the menrsquos ward Later I was asked to sit separately The doctors were confused about the situation I was denied basic human rightsrdquo Sheela name changed said adding that she had to be shifted to a private hospitalSheela said she was denied treatment despite her condition being serious She then contacted Kinnar Asmita and was shifted to a private hospital in Neral ldquoI had to shell out a huge sum for a bed After talking to others in my community it was decided to write a letter to Kalwa hospital authoritiesrdquo she saidA ray of hopeThe community is awaiting a separate transgender ward in Kalwa ldquoAround 2000 trans people live in Kalwa and nearby areas Itrsquos always not possible for us to go to Sion hospital or J J hospitalrdquo said SimranSimran said a few days ago some people stuffed a cloth in Salonirsquos mouth and threw her off a bridge Passersby alerted the foundation but the ambulance didnrsquot arrive on time ldquoWe were worried for her health but were hesitant to take her to Kalwa hospital and hence she was taken to Ulhasnagarrsquos Central hospital She is being treated for multiple injuries on her legs and spine and is not in a position to talk Hence we decided to write a letterrdquo she saidThe foundation has demanded a separate fivebed ward hormone therapy and mental health assistance from the municipal hospitalldquoMembers of the community had approached us on January 27 and have assured them that we will provide a separate OPD in the hospital when we expand in 45 monthsrdquo said Dr Rakesh Barot dean of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj HospitalWhile the Ulhasnagar hospitalrsquos ward is functional for transgenders the community has been demanding a urology centre ldquoThere is a lot of awareness about the separate ward in Ulhasnagar and hence we go there for treatment on a regular basis However we have asked for a doctor specialising in urology to visit the hospital at least twice a week Our community has a lot of problems and it needs medical assistancerdquo Simran saidNeed for more facilitiesThe Kinnar Asmita Foundation has also demanded hormone therapy and mental health assistance from both municipal hospitalsldquoThe community gets motivated to see if someone is going through hormone therapy Sometimes people take medicines on their own and hence a hormone therapy centre becomes more essential in both hospitals We are optimistic that both the hospitals will provide us with the same At the same time we have asked for mental health assistance as many people from the community go through immense trauma Some people go through sex change operations and hence mental health assistance should be available for allrdquo said SimranThe Kinnar Asmita Foundation had raised campaigns to create awareness about the separate ward in Ulhasnagar ldquoWe were happy about this development and we had created awareness campaigns about the availability of a separate ward We have requested the members of our community not to clap in the ward We want to be treated equally in the worldrdquo said Neeta Kene founder Kinnar AsmitaldquoSince the inauguration of the ward on December 9 we at least see one patient a week in the separate ward We are currently searching for endocrinologist who can provide hormone therapy to the community We strive to give adequate healthcare facilities to our patientsrdquo said Dr Manohar Bansode dean Ulhasnagar Central Hospital