Thiruvananthapuram: In a first of its kind initiative, CPM affiliated youth organisation DYFI formed a unit bringing transgender to the leadership. The 11-member committee elected by PMG unit of DYFI has eight transgenders including president and secretary. Surya Abhilash was elected unit's president and Syama S Prabha its secretary.
The decision to grant membership to transgender was part of the call given by DYFI all India Conference in Kochi to take them on board.
“We are going to give priority to their issues. They are facing discrimination in many forms. Idea is to bring them to the mainstream and address issues like social security, problems related to driving licence, exclusion in health schemes and prevent attacks on them,” said DYFI district secretary I. Saju.
Kunnukuzhy councillor I P. Binu who was instrumental in including them in local Kudumbasree said similar initiatives would be taken in other units as well.
Syama S. Prabha, secretary of the unit said, “This is perhaps the first time that a youth organisation is giving us so much prominence and bringing us to the leadership position.”
She said the educational and employment issues of trans people could be could be pushed with greater thrust. “Now that we are part of a political outfit we see this as an important step towards gaining acceptance as an integral part of the mainstream community,” she added. She hoped other youth organisations like Youth Congress would get inspired by this development. “For membership in the DYFI unit, it is not necessary that the TG person should be a Communist party sympathiser, though I am one,’’ she added.
