Bengaluru: A transgender marriage was registered in the city on Monday. This is the second wedding, while the first was that of transgender activist Akkai Padmashali a few months ago.
On May 13, Savitha, a transgender, married Prasannan, an entrepreneur, at a temple in Krishnagiri district and the marriage was registered at the registrar's office in K.R. Puram on Monday under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
Savitha, who is a housewife, told Deccan Chronicle, "We are glad that our marriage was registered and it is a special feeling and will cherish this our entire life. We want more people from our community to come out in the open and express their feelings. A fear still lingers among transgenders on talking about their relationships openly and many of them keep it to themselves. We would like to see more such marriages getting registered and this will help transgenders join the mainstream and lead a normal life."
Savitha's husband Prasannan said, "We lived on the same street in the same town. We also belong to the same caste and religion and are also distant relatives. But yet, people opposed our relationship. We have been talking to each other for over three years and a year ago, I expressed my feelings to her and she agreed. We have promised each other that we will stand together no matter what."
He said, "My family opposed our union and threatened me with dire consequences. They harassed me mentally and tried to blackmail me emotionally. But we had made up our mind and a few of our friends also supported us. We got married at a temple, but could not register it in Tamil Nadu due to some formalities which could not be fulfilled for various reasons. We took the help of Akkai and got the marriage registered. Without Akkai, we don't know how this could have happened."
Akkai, who is the first transgender woman to get her marriage registered, said, "In the case of Savitha, our organisation Ondede and several others played a major role. We supported her and Prasannan and got the wedding was registered. It is a special occasion for us and we would like to see more such weddings registered, which will help people from our community to lead a normal life."
