Transgender Woman Undergoes Gender Affirmation Surgery And Then Gets Reinstated As Panchayat Secretary In Tamil Nadu
If we as heterosexuals think that our lives are difficult, well think again. Just think about those who belong to the LGBTQ+ community. We have heard enough stories about how they are socially shunned because of which they’ve had to make life-altering decisions. However, the government helping the community to hold their own and be independent is a step in the right direction. Take the instance of this transgender woman who had to give up her life and get gender affirmation surgery because she couldn’t pretend anymore, after which she was reinstated back to her post. Isn’t this wholesome?
J Dakshayani quit her job as a panchayat secretary in the Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu in 2015 after which she underwent gender affirmation surgery, and now, she has been accepted for her true self and been reinstated in her old position. This makes her the state’s first transgender person to ever occupy the post of a panchayat secretary.
The 30-year-old Dakshayani was born a male, but she did not identify with the gender and so left her job and home. After which, the transgender woman underwent gender affirmation surgery and later got reinstated.
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Alby John, Thiruvallur district collector was the one to reinstate the transgender woman on Friday and said that this was a step in the right direction. He further revealed that the reason behind Dakshayani’s absence from work was due to physical and mental challenges that came with the transformation. He added, “We hope this would be a small step in making a more gender-sensitive society and also inspire more transgender people to be employed in government as well as private enterprises.”
As per reports, it was back in 2015, when Dakshayani joined the Koduveli panchayat as a secretary and worked there for 5 years before she quit the job and left her home. Speaking about her life, the transgender woman said that she had joined her work as a man but later it got to a point where she couldn’t keep up the pretense anymore. She said, “My hormones and body were changing. So, I just left.”
And in 2017, Dakshayani joined the transgender community in Chennai and underwent gender affirmation surgery. She then went on to live in Mumbai and Nepal and even did odd jobs before she returned to Tamil Nadu in 2019. After coming back, her mother and siblings accepted her for who she was.
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Dakshayani, upon returning to Chennai, joined a private firm but because she faced a lot of discrimination due to her being a transgender woman, she left the job in six months. And that’s when she decided to ask the government to get her old job back. Speaking about her job, she said, “This is a job I am experienced in and I am good at. And so far, the team seems affectionate, supportive, and aware… It is full and full public work and I hope through my role people can begin accepting transgender people. The government should offer more opportunities for transgender people so that our community can live with dignity.”
Ngl, the steps that the government has taken and are taking to ensure that the LGBTQ+ community feels inclusive are far from perfect but at least are moving in the right direction.
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