35 transgenders of Ludhiana on their way to becoming entrepreneurs

“Being known as transgender in a society is itself a challenge, forget leading a life with dignity. There is merely any occasion when someone makes us feel like a family member. Moreover, plating an opportunity to us is like a Daydream to many of us”, says Sheela, a Ludhiana-based Transgender while doing nail art on a client. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) along with Ludhiana Based NGO Jeet Foundation self-help group society has taken this initiative to change the paradigm of 35 such Transgenders’ lives in Ludhiana.

“We used to feel scared of Normal behavior with us. As whenever something genuine or good happens with us; it’s momentarily or just like a bubble. But this time when we were trained for good months and then we were even provided with job opportunities in good salons. We are treated with much dignity and people even ask for our services”, says Dhananmir, another transgender now turned entrepreneur.

Jeet Foundation Self Help Group President Sukhwinder Kaur exhorts, “They are part of society and constitution gives them Right to live life with dignity as they are the third gender. They can cast vote and choose a government like us then why are not be given a full chance to work like we all are working? Why disparity or make them feel inferior to any one of us?”

SIDBI Ludhiana GM Charu Verma has supported this initiative financially and Jeet foundation is making transgenders learn all new nuances of the beauty world that are required these days and could also make them good entrepreneurs of tomorrow. All the goods that are required in teaching the professional wellbeing courses are provided by SIDBI. Jeet foundation has created six months program for a different set of programs wherein different batches of transgenders take training, and after the due examinations, the top salons recruit them.

Kaur while talking about the professional courses says, “We have batches of Transgenders with us, we teach them different methods, techniques of beauty nuances.”

Some of the transgenders have already turned entrepreneurs and successfully started earning 40-50 thousand per month after even employing staff for them.