Mumbai: Transgenders plan flash mob to raise awareness about inclusiveness

The transgender community wants to spread the message of inclusivity and what better way to do that than spontaneously bursting into song and dance After all who doesnrsquot love a flash mob To that end sometime next month the countryrsquos firstever transgender flash mob will perform a fiveminute dance routine to raise awareness about the need for the transgender communityrsquos lsquoinclusionrsquo into the mainstreamThe proceeds from the live and online collection will benefit Humsafar TrustldquoThough the Supreme Court has passed a judgment in our favour society has still not accepted us People think we have dropped from the sky and are hesitant in accepting us completely When they see us they see lsquohijrasrsquo not a human being capable of love Flash mobs are usually planned by college students so our hope is that when we partake in it it might strike a chordrdquo said Urmi Jadhav who works as a research assistant at the Humsafar Trust and is part of the famous Dancing Queen groupOnline crusadeHowever worry not if you are not there to witness the mob live in action The founders of YouTube channel Foxbula will upload the video on their portal and proceeds from the same will be given to the Humsafar TrustldquoThere are about 20000 transgenders in the city of which around 80 per cent are involved in sex work and around 20 per cent have HIV Why is this happening Itrsquos because people are unaware There is an urgent need to be more welcoming and inclusive of the transgender communityrdquo said Sahil Chatwani a producer from FoxbulaExplaining the discrimination faced by the community Jadhav said ldquoThough people offer jobs we are unable to take them Even Mumbai University said it would be open to giving us admissions but they too need documents that we donrsquot have Where exactly do we gordquoThrough the project the community hopes to raise funds for various initiatives that Humsafar Trust supports ldquoThere is a travel agency that helps transgenders learn driving helping them merge into the mainstream We also have people suffering from HIV under the project lsquoSanjeevanirsquo The proceeds will be used to support themrdquo said Koninika Roy of the Humsafar TrustPublic responseJay Vyas a South Mumbai resident and student of the Nirmala Niketan College is however skeptical of what the community might achieve ldquoSouth Mumbai will attract a lot of people sure but thatrsquos that If you ask people they say lsquoYes very nice they should also get rightsrsquo but donrsquot expect changed hearts You ask the rickshaw wala he will also say the politically correct thing for TV and papers but it is how they react when they are alone with a transgender that reveals the real storyrdquo he saysArushi Dutt resident of Vile Parle and a media professional added ldquoIt would be interesting but it also depends on which part of Mumbai they are doing it in In South Mumbai people will be openminded but I donrsquot know if they will be willing to roll down the glasses of their expensive SUVs On the other hand I feel people in the suburbs will be more warm and receptiverdquo