Initial Learnings /Experiences:
I was a
wonder-kid in more than one way. As a young and impressionable girl of 15
years, I started posting pictures of wildlife on Facebook - as photography was
and still is my passion. And guess what, people liked it so much that I started
getting paid photography assignments. I liked the independence and confidence
it brought and thought earning money was fun. We started with just 100 likes
and within two years we had 3-4 Lakh likes on those pages, which later was
sold for a good profit. I stayed in a Government quarter at that time and my
computer was my window to the world.
However, as they say, man proposes and God disposes of. My
fancy plans went for a toss and I went into depression when I came face-to-face
with my sexuality. Belonging to a conservative place, being a queer &
surviving was a challenge itself. I needed a big platform to be heard and then
the idea germinated to go for Roadies audition. Competed with 14,000 people,
until the time I became one of the only 8 people who auditioned before the judges.
It was there that I came out and told them about my journey, all the bullying
and my determination not to give up.
The Obstacles Faced By The LGBTQI Community In The Country And Strategies To Address These Challenges:
I think that the first
challenge is survival, achievement comes later. Many individuals go through
this ordeal of self-doubt, depression and suicidal thoughts. I feel part of the
reason is that our education system, our families, society and peers nothing
educates us properly and realistically about the orientation of an individual.
So, you end up fighting yourself every moment. We also have a stark absence of
role-models while some corporate leaders and some celebrities have started to
come out, we need more role-models to inspire the young and give them a sense
of self-worth. The third key point is getting equal opportunities in education
and work-place. We have to be vocal and uncompromising to achieve that.
Businesses’ Help In Supporting LGBT Employees:
For us, in the LGBT community, things are definitely on an
upswing after the revocation of Article 377 by the honourable Supreme Court.
However, at the risk of sounding clich, I would say that a lot still needs to
be done. Individuals are still scared to come out thinking what will happen in
the workplace? Sure, HR teams are sensitive, especially in big organisations
but it is not easy to change the mindset of people, your colleagues.
The
good part is that there are Pride groups within almost all large companies,
where the LGBT employees can discuss their challenges, connect with each other
for emotional support. The other positive change is the various sensitization
workshops that are being organised where the employees are told about the LGBT
community and this creates positive behaviour change. This, I think, is both a
strategy and a positive development that is taking place and just needs to be
replicated in a big way across companies and geographies in the country.
Words Of Wisdom:
The people that you
see, interact with family, friends, colleagues even partners are just temporary
liaisons and not your entire life. I had my share of heartbreaks because my
partner was not able to come out because of family pressure. I am a fighter,
have been throughout my life. I have not allowed any loss to put me down
for long. And I have learned that you have to fight your own battles, no one is
going to come and fight it for you.
No matter how bad a few
days are, life rebounds and takes a turn for the better - provided you have the
courage to make things happen. You do not wait for life to happen for you but
you MAKE life happen with your positive outlook and the trust in yourself and
in tomorrow.