Interview | Akkai Padmashali: In her words

Transgender activist Akkai Padmashali talks to The Hindu about her autobiography, the way forward for the community and the need for political activism.

Transgender activist published her autobiography Akkai in Kannada last week. In her straight-forward account, she gives a rights-oriented perspective on the transgender struggle for equality and inclusivity, but at the same time rejects sympathy. She is also critical of certain aspects of the ‘Hijra’ tradition. An English translation, A Challenge to Sympathy, will be published by Zubaan Books in November later this year. In an interview with The Hindu, Akkai talks about why she set out to write her autobiography, the way forward for the community and the need for political activism. Edited excerpts: Many have asked this question. Why should one write their autobiography only when they are old? Most of the transgender autobiographies from the country seem to be aimed at evoking sympathy from society, which I am not comfortable with. My memoir in English is called A Challenge to Sympathy. I think there is a new rights based discourse that has to take shape regarding transgender issues in this country and this memoir is a small step in that direction. There is a need to make our struggle political. Years after of the IPC, nothing much has changed for the community. There are serious lacunae in the to protect our rights. We need to speak in the language of constitutional rights and occupy spaces as citizens of this Republic and not out of any sympathy by others.