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

Pawan Yadav. Pic/Hanif Patel

After scaling innumerable hurdles, Pawan Yadav became the first transgender lawyer in Maharashtra and second in India. Despite the achievement, the 30-year-old says the journey ahead is equally arduous considering the way society looks at trans people. The 30-year-old who lives with parents at Goregaon has vowed to give free legal support to the transgender community. Yadav also wants to become an IPS officer.

There are over 48,000 transgender people in Maharashtra. "I became the first advocate among them in the state and second in India after Satyashri Sharmila," Yadav said. "I 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 discrimination," Yadav said. A native of Jaunpur district in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav plans to go to Allahabad to prepare for UPSC exams to fulfil IPS dreams.

Pawan Yadav (centre) wants to start an NGO to help trans people. Pic/Hanif Patel

Yadav said the Maharashtra government must formulate a scheme to uplift the transgender community. "Today, 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 life…we 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 India," Yadav said. "It 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 gender…we can flash our I-cards to have our say."

No transgender wards in hospitals

Yadav 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. "You 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 issues."

Yadav said, "There are separate wards for males and females but not for transgenders in hospitals, be it government or private-run. Trans people have been sexually abused in a hospital bed in many cases across India…we need a separate transgender ward."

The advocate also feels trans persons deserve a special coach on city's local trains. "Whenever I have travelled on local trains, I have been subjected to cruelty and social discrimination. The co-passengers never want to sit by me, so I sit on the floor…the ministry of railways must look into this."

The community may have got legal status, but amenities as basic as a toilet remain a dream for trans persons, said Yadav. "The government has not made even a single toilet for transgenders. This is a basic need… we face a lot of difficulties using public toilets."

Home truth

According to the young lawyer, renting an apartment is a night for the community members. "Trans 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. It's the same as people like to have honey but hate honeybees… 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 Act," said Yadav.

Yadav was sexually abused by a family friend in childhood. "But 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 people," said Yadav.

The IPS aspirant is planning to open a non-profit organisation to raise awareness of the community's rights, apart from urging the government to sensitise police and doctors. "I 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 penny.

Third gender people have to go out for ‘badhai' 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 it," said Yadav. Yadav's childhood friend Mona is also a trans person. Both of them got their sex change operations in Pune.

Yadav recognised her feminine feelings when she was in Std VIII. "I was subjected to cruelty and social discrimination in school. I would choose to play with girls and whenever I planned to go in a boys' group, they would tease me…I always wanted to become a woman but my body features were similar to boys," Yadav said.

Before pursuing law, Yadav had worked in the quality control department of a private chemical company in Vashi. "I also worked in a project for the Bullet Train in Maharashtra, saved money for my sex change operation."

48,000
No. of trans people in Maharashtra