Coimbatore: Transgenders are on par with the two other genders, and they (transgenders) deserve to be treated with respect too. This was the message transgender Kalki Subramaniam conveyed to the Coimbatore District Home Guards during her recent talk in the city.

The Coimbatore District Home Guards joined hands with the Rotary Club of Coimbatore Downtown, and organized an interactive session, ‘Ungaludan Thirunangai.’ The special talk that was attended by 150 Home Guards and 48 members of the Rotary Club of Coimbatore Downtown.

Comparing the way transgenders were treated during the pre-Independence era, and how it has deteriorated now, Kalki , who is an activist, author and actor, said that the members of the third gender were worshipped as God back then. But, post-Independence and due to the British influence, the way the society treats transgenders has changed, she pointed out. “Transgenders are not given their due respect in our society. They are ill-treated, and this is one of the reasons why a majority of them take to begging and the sex trade,” Kalki said.

Seconding her was Superintendent of Police , RV Ramya Bharathi, who stressed that transgenders are no different from others. She too urged the audience to treat transgenders with dignity. She was in praise for Kalki for beating the odds, overcoming challenges, and becoming a role model for the members of her community.

“Coimbatore District Home Guards have a great reach. We are trying to spread the message of treating the third gender with respect and dignity to all in the society through the Home Guards. The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014, is a proposed Act of the Parliament of India which seeks to end the discrimination faced by the transgender people in India. The Bill was passed by the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, in April 2015. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha in February this year,” Dr. P. Krishnanda, Event Chairman, Ungaludan Thirunangai, said.