A Day In The Life Of Priyanka Sharma, A Trans Woman Building Her Dream Life From Scratch One Day At A Time

Rarely do you come across a human who lives their life to the fullest years after being in the darkest phase of their life. I recall being welcomed at the Mitr Foundation in the national capital by this woman with a heartwarming smile. Her warmth and laughter made me feel at home. Over the next few minutes, she gave me an insight into her world, her tragic past, her life at the 'Garima Greh', and her aspirations going forward. Excerpts:

Celebrating Her Gender Identity

"Society always considered me a boy but I am a girl. I am a trans woman," said Priyanka Sharma, smiling ear to ear, introducing herself. Priyanka got no support from her family members and had no one to talk to for the longest time about her identity. She would often feel as if she was the only one in the entire world to feel this way. Soon, she decided to run away to escape the society that constantly tried to erase her identity by not acknowledging what she really felt like.

In Hope For A Trans-Inclusive World

Years later today, Priyanka's fear of people hasn't changed a bit. "What people say continues to be my biggest fear. Not just me, the entire trans community constantly fears being judged and called names. I feel happy to be here amidst people just like me," shared Priyanka.

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She shared a recent incident that left her tormented. She set up her tea stall at an event thinking it would help her create awareness among people about her small business. However, it ended up being a disastrous experience for her. People at the event kept addressing her as a male and the stares left her uncomfortable, making it difficult for her to make the most of the event. Priyanka wonders why educated members of the community too fail to have any knowledge about transgenders. She hopes for a trans-inclusive world, societies, and workplaces that are free from discrimination and stereotypes, a space that just lets people from the trans community be just like any other.

A Day In Priyanka's Life

Priyanka Sharma begins her day with a lot of cleaning around but she just can't do it without some music. She then quickly gets ready for work. Her work through the day involves preparing tea blends, working on her pending orders, and getting fresh ingredients as required. Sharma runs a small tea business from the shelter itself. She hails from Assam and attributes her hometown to giving her the skill to identify quality teas for tea lovers. Currently, she has 10-15 blended teas up for sale. She sells these tea packs at events via her stall. She also puts her teas on sale at local grocery stores. Priyanka aspires to be a businesswoman and seeing her grit and determination, I am sure she will make it big in no time.

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Priyanka believes that change begins at home. She shared that if her family members had accepted her the way she was, her life would have been different. She feels that though there is a lot of chatter around the trans community today, nothing really has changed in terms of equality and social inclusion. Well, unfortunately, it is true, we still have a long way to go. As Priyanka said, to make a real difference, we all have to do our bit. Do you agree?