Jammu and Kashmir: Voluntary group extends helping hand to transgenders amid COVID-19 pandemic

The group has demanded separate vaccination centres for the transgender community to avoid harassment and humiliation.

Srinagar: The pandemic has hit almost all sections of society in more ways than one. Scores of people have been left jobless and many have been left to fend for themselves as lockdowns have prolonged in Jammu and Kashmir. One of the less talked about sections is the transgender community in the state, which seems to have been severely impacted as their sources of income have dried up. Khushi Mir, a transgender from Srinagar has been without a job for more than a year. Khushi is a make-up artist and she has not had a client since the start of the pandemic. Her clients mostly were brides and due to lockdown, there were no weddings which meant no business for her. But that did not stop her from creating a group where not only has she managed to help herself but hundreds of other transgenders. She along with four young boys have made a volunteer group and are distributing food kits to the transgender community.