Homes for transgender people | A safe space— threatened

Transwomen from Garima Grehs in the country face challenges and triumphs at Queer Pride parade, highlighting the need for support.

Trigger warning: mentions of suicide and abuse.

Wearing ornate self-stitched skirts and colourful crop tops, five transwomen lock their Garima Greh and head to Dabri Mor metro station, Janakpuri, in working-class west Delhi on November 24. From here, they will take a train to Barakhamba Road, 16 stops away, to join the city’s Queer Pride parade, held since 2008. Their floral tiaras, colourful hair clips, and a headband with the devil’s horns don’t attract as much attention as they would have a decade ago.

For Anu, who is going to the parade for the first time, the trauma of running away from Haryana in search of a safe space is still fresh. But today, the excitement of being with her friends and an unexpected “Are you all going for Pride? Me too!” from a fellow metro passenger in the women’s compartment trumps all other emotions.

On reaching the venue, the transwomen hug their friends who are already there and blend into a sea of rainbows. They pose for selfies, make reels, and prepare for an after-party. For the past few years, Garima Greh, a Central government-funded shelter home for transpeople, has offered a roof, food, medicines, recreation, counselling, and a sense of camaraderie. Each year, transwomen display their make-up artistry for Pride, a skill they learn from workshops in the Garima Greh, where vocational training is part of the government’s employment facilitation thrust.

The event was attended by over 1,000 people. Geetanjali, 26, a resident of the home for the past few months, was attending her first Pride along with her partner and best friend, both of whom she met at the home. “Coming here from a village in Haryana, where only my elder sister accepted me, was like getting a new lease of life. I found a happier version of myself as the community in the Garima Greh allowed me to be the person I wanted to be and not the person I was expected to be,” she says. Samyra, 24, says excitedly, “I got to dress up and hold my head high with my community.” Away from the celebration of belonging to a larger community, the five transwomen are oblivious to the threat that looms.

Rudrani Chettri, the Garima Greh project director in Delhi, is worried that the home may have to shut down soon for its 25 residents if funds do not come through. “I have been managing by taking loans from here and there; I get them only because people trust me. But I do not know how much longer we can sustain this way,” she says.

In November 2021, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said in a press release that it had initiated 12 pilot shelter homes or Garima Grehs for transgender people and provided financial assistance to community-based organisations for setting them up. The Centre has the SMILE (Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) scheme. This includes a sub-scheme, the Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Welfare of Transgender Persons, of which a component is the setting up of shelter homes. The idea was to run the pilot and progress to establishing at least one in each State.