Aiding Trans Daily Wagers
The unfortunate truth is in the world’s largest democracy, the work and labour force remains neglected and struggles to achieve basic rights and powers to overcome their rampant exploitation. As India plunged into a lockdown , with the COVID-19 pandemic at large, the work force of the economy, especially the daily wage labourers were hit worst. The section of the workforce that depends on an income generated in the service sector involving public interaction experienced a total shutdown of income.
When reading the above lines, it is highly unlikely that you will identify the transgender community as part of the defined category. This happens because of conditioned thinking that entirely overlooks transgender communities as part of the society : whether it is their sexual identity or the nature of their work. Post the economic collapse that covid triggered, most good samaritans ran to the rescue of daily wage labourers of all kinds yet the trans community was ignored largely. In a manner not quite different from their oppression when it comes to rights and opportunities for housing, employment and survival.
As the already vulnerable trans community is impacted disastrously, there are Trans organisations such as Mashal in Mumbai that have taken it upon themselves to send trans daily wage labourers back home and collect funds for the same. This epitomises the spirit of social justice and the essence of helping each other out in this global crisis. The health scares of trans sex workers are real and concerning and as responsible citizens it is our duty to prevent their exposure to the virus due to the nature of their work.
At Daily Wagers we recognise and condone the pervasive demand for gender conformity that is responsible for staining the conscience of many benefactors who choose to not donate to the cause of the transgender community. Our organisation aims to bring light to the issues of the community. We have absorbed 200+ contacts of trans individuals who are a subsection of the daily wagers into our system and connected them to donors: directing groceries for their sustenance. Apart from food the Trans community battles many other issues. These issues range from the lack of employment to healthcare problems as many members of the community are HIV + and require regular medicines. Let’s join our hands and hearts together to help the trans community lead a respectable and dignified life in this pandemic with the hope to re-affirm the ideology that no work is inferior and no individual should be stigmatised by the simple virtue of them being human.