Slowly, but a change can be witnessed in India towards the transgender community. The state government in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh has set up a transgender toilet. Inaugurated on February 18 and set up in the Kamachha area of Varanasi, this is a strong and empowering change witnessed in the favour of the community.
‘Smart City’ Project
The toilet has been constructed under the Smart City project. It’s built to ensure the participation of the community in the cleanliness of the city. It cost around Rs. 5 lakh and was completed around a month ago. The facility has been constructed to cater to specific needs. It ensures the participation of the trans community in the cleanliness of the country.
Ramsakal Yadav, a senior official at the Varanasi Nagar Nigam, said this was the first toilet for the transgender community in U.P. He added that there was a plan to make four more such toilets in different parts of the city.
The toilet was formally inaugurated by Varanasi mayor Mridula Jaiswal in the presence of several officials and transgenders. Mayor Jaiswal said that this is a step towards ending the inconvenience faced by the community. And, is a way of giving the trans community the dignity they deserve.
First Toilet For Transgenders Only
Municipal commissioner of Varanasi, Gaurang Rathi said, “These toilets are only for third genders and not for the others. This was a long-awaited demand as they have faced a lot of difficulties. We plan to build four more such toilets in the next two to three months.”
We EmbrACE, an oragnisation working for upliftment of the transgender community said, “The inauguration of the toilet is a remarkable step. It will sort a big difficulty of transgenders. This is just the beginning, we hope different states take this bold step and consider us as an equal and normal part of society.”
In 2014, the Supreme Court had ordered that separate toilets should be constructed for transgenders. But only a few have been constructed so far in cities like Mysuru, Bhopal and Nagpur. This is just a beginning of the bigger equality we look forward to for the transgender community.
Read about shelter homes set up by the government for the transgender community.
