Even though transgenders are yet to receive the respect and status that they deserve, one positive sign is, that society is slowly embracing the community and the government is also coming up with various new ways to assimilate them into the mainstream.
Following the same path, the district administration of Kamrup in Assam has helped set up the first-ever ‘Trans Tea Stall’ in the premises of the Office of the Deputy Commissioner. In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Deputy Commissioner Kamrup, Kailash Karthik N, shared details about the same.
TRANS TEA STALL
Opened under the aegis of the All Assam Transgender Association (AATA) and with the support of the Kamrup district administration, the Trans tea stall is an initiative to look for a sustainable source of income for the Transgender community alongside helping them in gaining entrepreneurial skills.
“AATA contacted us with a request for some space in our office to open the stall and receive an opportunity to get into the mainstream. The community faces a lot of discrimination and inhumane treatment and we wanted to break that barrier. Therefore, when they reached out to us, we felt this would be the ideal way to give them a head start into the mainstream,” Mr. Karthik said.
TAKING THE FIRST STEP
Trans Tea Stall has acquired space in the Deputy Commissioner’s office premises and has already started operating. As of now, four trans people are managing and working in the tea stall – two in charge of running the stall on a rotational basis along with two helpers.
“This is a pilot initiative and based on the response that we will receive from here from an acceptance point of view as well as from an economical POV, we will observe if it is viable to run the stall in other places, too. Based on that, we are planning to upscale the initiative in other government institutions across the district that see a lot of footfalls. Hence, we wish to decentralize it in other locations as well,” Mr. Karthik said.
PUBLIC’S REACTION
The Trans Tea Stall has received a warm and welcoming response from the public. People took the initiative in a very positive manner breaking the age-old social taboos in their minds, to a large extent.
“There are several existing tea stalls in the DC office premises but the Trans Tea Stall is already giving them good competition, even though they have just opened a week before. The public is coming to them and praising their work continuously,” said Mr. Karthik.
The officer has provided them with the right space for people to notice them the moment they walk into the DC office, which has also helped the members positively to make their presence felt.
Mr. Karthik also makes a special mention and gives major credit to Swati Bidhan Baruah, the nodal person behind AATA, who drove the initiative and reached out to the DC. Not only that, but she is also the first transgender judge in the state of Assam. She is hopeful that if all goes well, then the tea stall will expand in the days to come and start selling more items than just tea, coffee, and packed goods.
