Transgender community deserves equality, dignity

The TransFormation Salon will have about six to eight employees, and an upper deck, “which works as a safe space for the community”. Pic/Shadab Khan

The city has taken a big step forward towards inclusivity. A salon opened in Prabhadevi over the weekend and will be run by transgender persons. It also has members of the queer community as employees.

A peppy, exciting opening was held, and everyone in attendance had the feeling that this is going to be a trailblazer, at a time when we are talking of creating a more equitable world in terms of opportunities for sexual minorities.

Though there are some corporates, banks and small businesses that employ transgender individuals, these are by the transgender workers' admission often ‘back-end' jobs. In that way, they remain ‘invisible' to people who walk in for business.

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That is changing, though that change like most transformations is not easy. Late last year, the city got a transgender-run cafe in the western suburbs. Now, it is a salon.

As they try to break into the mainstream, there are several takeaways here. The personnel must be highly qualified and competent. Inclusion is the bigger picture but the core is not one's gender, it is just how good one is at the job. The staff must be at par with their counterparts at other salons.

Customers who walk in, need to treat the staff with respect and dignity. Remember: these persons have and are facing tremendous hardships every single day. Those cuts are deep and continue to hurt.

Insulting and mocking the staff and asking why they run the salon cannot be tolerated. Even when availing one's self of beauty services, and talking to the stylist, one should ensure that one's questions are not out of line. People who walk in simply to ridicule or denigrate have an option - not to walk through that door at all.