12th October is a poisonous day in the history of NT-DNT and trans and hijrah communities, because it was on this day that they were criminalized by the colonial Criminal Tribes Act in 1871. We condemn this Act and it’s consequences that can still be seen in form of continued stigmatization, labelling, attacking and false accusations.
Our Founder Deepa Pawar being NT herself, started working with Trans friends during 2020 COVID period, since Hijra community has many NT-DNT members. Since then, we are collaborating regularly – with trans and LGBTQIA youth participating in mental health and leadership trainings, and cis youth from Kolegaon and Rahtoli villages learning about laws related to trans rights from Hijra experts and participating in their rallies.
In a recent 2-day residential camp on “Theater” with youth from Kinnar Asmita Garima Greh, these youth not only condemned the inhuman CTA law, but also learned about Theater to be able to express and represent societal issues in a strong manner.