Shrigauri Sawant is an Indian transgender activist. She is known for being the director of Sakhi Charchaughi Trust which works for the welfare of transgender people and those affected by HIV/AIDS.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Shri Gauri Sawant aka Gauri Sawant was born as Ganesh Suresh Sawant on Tuesday, 22 July 1980 (age 42 years; as in 2022) in Bhawani Peth, Pune, Maharashtra. His zodiac sign is Cancer.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 9″
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: brown
Family
Shrigauri Sawant belongs to a Marathi family.
parents and siblings
His father, Suresh Sawant, worked as a police officer.
Shrigauri Sawant’s father
Gauri’s mother died when she was only 7 years old. He has an elder sister, who is 10 years older than him.
husband and children
As of 2022, Shrigauri is unmarried. After Gauri’s biological mother died of AIDS in 2008, Gauri adopted a baby girl. After her mother passed away, her grandmother was selling her to sex traffickers. After this Gauri Sawant gave money to her grandmother and took the girl with herself. Gauri named the girl Gayatri. During an interview, Gauri while talking about adopting the girl child said,
I thought that after a few days a relative would come and take the child. Nobody came. My teacher said that I have made a big mistake. I began to wonder why I had let myself get into this mess. Then one day the girl, sleeping next to me, moved to put her arm around me. After that I knew I would never let him go. Gayatri is now studying to become a doctor and lives in a hostel.
Shrigauri Sawant with her daughter
He further told that even after 20 years of leaving home, his family did not accept him. He said,
I used to get a lot of hate but once my story went viral that I had adopted a girl, people’s perspective changed towards me. They never accepted me as a trans person, but when I became the mother of a five-year-old child, they accepted my motherhood. My daughter taught me that you don’t need to have a uterus or give birth to a child, motherhood is all about taking care of the child and loving it. I felt happy when people started recognizing me for my motherhood.”
initial conflict
When Gauri was in school, her principal called her father to school and told him that Gauri had some feminine qualities. Gauri’s father became very angry at this and started misbehaving with her. He even stopped talking to Gauri. During an interview, Gauri talked about her father’s behaviour. Gauri said,
When he came home, I would quickly go to the bedroom. He did not look at my face. It wasn’t his fault. My behavior was so feminine that anyone and everyone would make fun of me, call me names. Dad would shoot bullets at work and come home to his son whom everyone would make fun of. He was not always like this. When I was young, like every father, he also used to take me for bike rides and loved me equally. But there was never any discussion about sexuality, gender etc. in my family; They were not sensitive at all. Once, my father said to me, ‘You will roam the streets clapping.’ This made me very sad. This time, when I called her for some work, my ‘Hello’ was different, so she said to me, ‘Kya Hijre Jaisa Baat Karta Hai’ (Why do you talk like a Hijre?) So, I never Did not answer the phone. When he calls.”
Gauri recognized her sexuality at a very young age, but she was not brave enough to confront it in front of her father. When Gauri was alone at home, she used to dress up like her grandmother. When she was in school, her classmates used to tease her. In an interview, she had told that once her family members saw her wearing a bra under her T-shirt and after that her family treated her very badly. They asked her to open the door while urinating and forced her to dress like a boy. When Gauri turned 17, he ran away from her house with just Rs 60. During an interview, while talking about leaving his house, he said,
I had Rs 60, and I knew that there was a train from Chinchwad which passed through Pune and dropped us at Dadar in Mumbai. Since it was Tuesday, I went to Siddhivinayak and ate two laddus given as prasad in lunch and ate Ragda Pattis at Dadar station in the evening. I couldn’t eat it, and the boy who served me water brought the glass with his finger, and I couldn’t drink it! I found a tap somewhere in the canteen, which had rice and food stuck to it, which I used to drink.”
At that time Gauri had a friend who was gay and trans sex worker. Then Gauri stayed with him for 2-3 days. She believed that she was not beautiful enough to be a sex worker, nor was she interested in working as a beggar. His friend then introduced him to the LGBTQ organization ‘Humsafar Trust’. Talking about this in an interview he said,
I wasn’t pretty or fair enough to be in sex work, so he never offered me a job there. But they fed me and took care of me, and later, I was introduced to Humsafar Trust (one of the oldest LGBTQ organizations in India). By the grace of God I never had to beg. I was a gay man, not a lesbian. I was a eunuch. I wanted to do something for the transgender community. I wanted to work with underprivileged children and open a shelter home for transgenders.
He further explained that even after more than 20 years, his family did not accept him. He said,
It’s been 20 years since my family accepted me. I worked in a shelter for children for a while because I love being with children, but they had a problem when I revealed my gender. My father (who ran the shelter home) sent me away. Humans reached the moon, but we got stuck in gender (On one hand we send people to the moon. On the other hand, we are still stuck by our gender) Women have not got their 33 per cent reservation. what about us? When will our turn come? (When will our turn come?)”
Sakhi Charchaughi Trust/Ajicha Ghar
While she was working with Humsafar Trust, she met Indian social workers like Ashok Row Kavi, Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi and Kanchana (Gauri’s mentor mother). Gauri then decided to transform herself into a ‘Hijra’ or third gender and with the help of the Trust, she changed her identity from Ganesh to Gauri. In 2000, Ashok Row Kavi gave her the idea to start Sakhi Charchaughi Trust alias Ajicha Ghar for the welfare of transgenders and sex workers. Gauri was then appointed as the director of the trust and merged the trust with the Mumbai District AIDS Control Society. Sakhi Charchaughi Trust helps transgenders and sex workers by providing HIV testing camps, free condoms and organizing social awareness campaigns for them.
Shrigauri Sawant standing in front of Sakhi Charchaughi Trust
a worker
In 2009, Gauri filed a petition in the Supreme Court to provide legal recognition to transgenders in India. An Indian NGO named Naz Foundation took his appeal forward. She was also a litigator at the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). After hearing the petition, the Supreme Court of India passed the Transgender Law. In 2014, Gauri became the first transgender in India to petition the Supreme Court of India to grant adoption rights to transgenders. He has also worked to provide basic rights to the LGBTQ community. Later, NALSA made the third gender eligible to obtain Aadhaar card. In an interview, he told that due to lack of birth documents he had to face many difficulties. He said,
I ran away from home, where should I get birth certificate, original certificate, PAN card, ration card, Aadhaar card (my family has abandoned me, how do I get the certificate?)”
Shrigauri Sawant with her disciples
She helps provide shelter to trans people who are abandoned by their families. Gauri has been working for a long time to provide help to HIV infected people. He decided to do something for the welfare of HIV patients when his adopted daughter’s biological mother died of the same disease. Gauri has been actively working for the welfare of animals for a long time.
Shrigauri Sawant with her pet dog
‘Vicks Generation of Care’ short video
In 2017, Gauri was featured in a YouTube video for the Vicks series ‘Generation of Care’. The video depicts her real life story of adopting a girl while being transgender. The video got millions of views within a few days. Gauri got a lot of popularity from the video. Talking about this in an interview he said,
Ola drivers who pick me up want to talk to me about advertising, people come up to me in public places and want to shake my hand. My fellow transgender people said that you have grown up, where do you have time for us now?”
Election Ambassador of Maharashtra
In 2019, Shrigauri Sawant was appointed as one of the 12 election ambassadors of Maharashtra. She became the first transgender to be selected as an election ambassador in India. On being appointed election ambassador, Gauri said in an interview,
I want to ensure that everyone does not let their precious vote go to waste. They should vote not only for housewives but also for sex workers and transgender women in this country.
Facts/General Knowledge
- People of her community lovingly call her Khala.
- In an interview, Gauri had told that she was born 10 years after her elder sister because her mother did not want another child. Her mother even tried to abort her in the seventh month of her pregnancy. Talking about this he said,
My mother did not want me to come into this world and even tried to abort me in the seventh month. But the doctor told him that this girl has now become so developed and strong that even if she is thrown against the wall, no one can destroy her. I was born into such yes-and-no circumstances, so I turned out with an equally confused gender identity.
He further said that since childhood, he liked playing games like Ghar-Ghar and Teacher-Teacher with girls. He said,
I didn’t feel like a eunuch or a girl, but I knew I had some unusual characteristics. I always made friends with girls and never played with boys. I loved playing house-to-house with the girls – plucking leaves from celery trees and cutting them into little loaves with a thumbs up hat and so on, collecting carnations and pretending to boil them in the cooker – I loved all this. Had a lot of fun! I was yelled at a lot at home for this matter. But I never changed.”
- In one of her talk shows, she told that when she was about 10 years old, her aunt asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. Gauri replied that she wanted to become a mother. Everyone present there laughed at her and said that a boy can never become a mother.
- Gauri has walked the ramp in many fashion shows.
Shrigauri sawant in a fashion show
- In an interview, Gauri told that she loved watching Indian singer Usha Uthup since childhood. She loved her dressing style, especially her bindi. In 2017, Gauri and Usha were invited as guest contestants on the Hindi TV show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’.
Shrigauri Sawant with Usha Uthup in Kaun Banega Crorepati (2017)
- He has been invited several times as a guest speaker on the talk show TEDx Talks.
- He has written a book titled Human Resource Development. In 2019, a book titled ‘Gauri the Urge to Fly’ based on the story of Gauri Sawant was published, authored by Rhythm Wagholikar.
A book on Shrigauri Sawant
- Gauri has worked as a host for one season of the Marathi talk show ‘Gharo Ghari Matichya Chuli’ aired on TV9 Marathi.
- She has received many awards and honors for her contribution to the welfare of transgenders.
Shrigauri Sawant was honored in a program
- In 2022, Indian actress Sushmita Sen announced on her Instagram account that she will play the role of Shrigauri Sawant in the Hindi web series ‘Taali’.
Sushmita Sen as Shrigauri Sawant in Tali
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn