Ostracized by society and family, they ache for love and acceptance. But in many ways the society has been failing transgender people forcing them to snuff out their own lives. The year 2021 saw several such incidents of transgender people, mostly, trans women, killing themselves.
The suicides have brought to light the discrimination and harassment faced by the transgender people–simply for existing. Lack of emotional
and financial support, depression and physical and psychological issues following sex reassignment surgery are the major issues most of them go through which call for urgent attention from the so-called ‘literate’ state.
In Kerala, the change in the society’s attitude has been slow and the impact on the mental health of transgender people has been telling. Other than taking up some minimal measures, the state government has failed to take any concrete steps to uplift the living conditions of transgender people.
It was after the death of trans woman Ananya Kumari Alex in July this year that the issues related to sex reassignment surgeries faced by them attracted limelight. Subsequently, the government announced guidelines surgeries in the state. Leaders of trans community say at least four known suicide cases among trans gender people were reported in 2021 while there were many more who have attempted suicide.
Sheethal Shyam, a member of the transgender justice board of social justice department says isolation and loneliness are the core issues faced by transgender people. “They have nowhere to go when an issue emerges,” Sheethal says. Sex reassignment sur- geries often puts them in an extremely fragile state, physiologically and emotionally, and the absence of a professional health care system and a counselling service have left them as an extremely vulnerable group.
“Transgender people face anxiety issues in the wake of hormone therapy. It is deplorable that the issues transgender people face are not discussed anywhere in the society,” says Shyama S Prabha, project coordinator of the state Transgender Cell.
Dr A K Jayasree of community medicine in Pariyaram Medical College in Kannur notes that even educated people refuse to accept the fact that transgender people and homosexual people are there in the society just like heterosexual people. “Though some changes started to appear in Kerala, the recent deaths of transgender people shows the change is insufficient,” she says.
