This Dance Troupe Highlights the Problems Faced By Transgenders in India Everyday

On the occasion of Transgender Awareness Week, The Dancing Queens to perform in Mumbai, highlighting their cause and demand equal rights.

21 March, 2018
This Dance Troupe Highlights the Problems Faced By Transgenders in India Everyday

​Despite India's Supreme Court recognizing a third gender, in a landmark judgement, in April 2014, transgenders, or hijra, ​are still faced with misconceptions about their lifestyle, and there is little awareness amongst the masses a  to the kinds of problems they face every single day.

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So on the occasion of Transgender Awareness Week (#TransWk), which had started from 14th November and will continue till the 20th, The Dancing Queens are set to perform in Mumbai, using dance as a medium to highlight the struggles of the transgender community of India and demand equal rights.

The Dancing Queen is a transgender led professional dance troupe and it was founded in 2009 by Abhina Aher, Urmi Jhadav and Madhuri Sarode. 

In the video below, Urmi and Madhuri talk about how dancing has helped them express who they are and how their troupe has been trying to voice the problems faced by their community every single day.

[vimeo ]

It is of no surprise that transgenders have a hard time finding jobs in the country. In the video below, Aher talks about the harsh realities faced by their community after the institution of the British colonial laws in the 19th century.

[vimeo ]

"Post-invasion era, they've been shunned down to the corner of the society", says Aher, "When you cannot have employment, when you're not accepted by your family, and when you're thrown out of your family structure, you have nothing else to do but beg on the streets or do commercial sex work."

Aher then talks about the fact that they want The Dancing Queens to become an entity on tis own and create jobs for their community. 

For more information about the event, you can visit their website.

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