Transgender community in Bengaluru faces difficulties amid lockdown

Bengaluru: Amid lockdown aimed at controlling the spread of COVID-19, the marginalized transgender community of the city is facing difficulty to meet basic needs.

With a large fraction of the community dependent on beggary for sustenance, the situation has resulted in literally no earnings for most of them, as the general public is away from streets and shops being closed.

“We are facing difficulty for even one time food… no one is coming forward to help us,” a transgender said.

While pointing out that the government was helping labourers and other needy, another transgender said, “what have we done wrong? The situation is such that we cannot go out and ask for money or food…at least provide us with food.”

Some of us are short of money for medicines, there are many elders who are ill and HIV affected, another transperson pointed out.

However, organisations like Ondede that works for the rights of the transgenders, led by activist Akkai Padmashali, is working with well-wishers of the community to provide groceries to the doorstep of transgenders.

Speaking to, Padmashali demanded that a package for the community along with other vulnerable sections, by the government that takes care of the livelihood from medicine to ration for a couple of months, until the situation gets better.

“I’m disappointed with the federal and the state government’s response towards the community…We are the ones affected directly, our daily life is on the streets through begging and sex work…

our daily life is affected like daily wage workers. There is no food, no money for rent, there are HIV positive people unable to buy medicines,” she said.

Also pointing out that there is no proper awareness being created among the people of the community who are vulnerable, she said, most of us don’t have TV to see awareness ads.