Impact of COVID-19 on transgender communities.

Meera and I met for the first time at my school bus stop. I always used to see her around chit-chatting with people, asking for money and then giving selfless and endless blessings in return. It seemed as if, \’Social interaction\’ was something she lived for. Amidst this lockdown, while I was sipping my coffee, she suddenly crossed my mind. What is she doing now? How\’s she managing her livelihood?

This social distancing would have made her life upside down. Although the government is running various programmes for the underprivileged people, but somehow the transgender people are excluded from this. The section of transgender is particularly affected in this crisis because transgenderism under poverty is a persistent reality playing out in the everyday life. It is a matter of woe that the government is less concerned about food and job insecurity among transgender people. There is an absolute stigma attached to them and that can be evidently seen in our healthcare system as well. The patients suffering from COVID-19 may encounter rigid discrimination and prejudice because of their gender identity which might expose them to hatred and harassment. There are no specified wards or beds for transgender people. This also prohibits them from reporting the symptoms.

The idea of social distancing and work from home has undoubtedly proved to be of immense help for us but it has also made these vulnerable communities unable to sustain themselves. We need to find a concrete solution to this. Like daily wage workers, the transgender people also earn on an everyday basis from their gig jobs, but unlike daily wage workers they don\’t have a home to go back to. Therefore, we cannot have, \’one size fits all\’ attitude towards their problems. We can\’t leave them with their luck during this current pandemic situation. Government and we as a society should look into the interest of the said community and precise policies should be made. The policies, education, skill development should be channelized among the transgender people such that their survival does not get endangered in a nationwide lockdown.