Dehradun (Uttarakhand): Members of the Uttarakhand transgender community celebrated the Janmashtami festival at the auditorium of Dehradun Municipality, on Tuesday, with élan. Participants belonging to the Third Gender, dancing to the tunes of religious songs, created magic of sorts at the event. The cultural program was held to commemorate the birth of Lord Krishna.
Uttarakhand transgender community celebrates Janmashtami festival with aplomb Speaking on the occasion, Aditi Sharma, a transgender attending the function, said, "By holding such a program, we are seeking an identity of sorts for our community in society. Our responsibility should not be confined to an entertainer only or clapping for someone else. We are also a part of this society and keen on contributing to it. We want to join the mainstream of life. We don't want to live an alienated lifestyle."
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Shabana Azmi, a researcher working for the transgender community, said, "I have been associated with the transgender community since 2018, especially working for people belonging to this community hailing from Haridwar, Rishikesh, Roorkee, Kotdwar and Nainital." "My area of focus is health issues that transgenders have been experiencing. Besides, I have been working on mental and societal issues that transgenders have been facing."
Elaborating on the transgender headcount in Uttarakhand, Azmi said, "We didn't have sufficient data available on transgenders' population in Uttarakhand. The Uttarakhand Census department has put them into a male category, which needed rectification. No doubt, our work in that direction will help in making out the exact population count of transgender in Uttarakhand."
