Sruthy Sithara is the first Indian to win Miss Trans Global 2021; she had been competing in the pageant for the past 6 months. She is also one of the 4 transgender persons who have been given a government job. She announced her victory on Instagram a few weeks back to her 100k followers.
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The titles were rewarded to the contestants in an online event as the physical event was cancelled this year due to the pandemic. It was supposed to be held in London.
So, what is Sruthy’s story? How did she reach these new heights coming from an identity that is only known for doing darker things?
The 25-year-old worked as a project assistant at the Kerala government’s Social Justice Department. Kerala’s minister of higher education Dr R Bindu congratulated her on her prestigious win on Twitter:
Keralite Sruthy Sithara has been selected as Miss Trans Global 2021, a title she achieved after a long fight against prejudices galore and the narrow mindset of our society. A matter of immense pride for Kerala. Congratulations Sruthy… pic.twitter.com/tJThRAHBJy
— Dr R Bindu (@rbinducpm) December 2, 2021
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Sruthy wrote in one of her Insta posts that she dedicates this title to her mom and ‘Anannyah chechi’ referring to Anannyah Kumari Alex, Kerala’s first transgender RJ who died by suicide this year.
In her audition tape for Miss Trans Global 2021, she said that this title will help her lead a life with self-esteem, pride and dignity; she added that this won’t just help her but a thousand other trans people who hide their faces under the shadow of the rainbow. Contestants from the Philippines and Canada secured the 1st and 2nd runner up positions at the pageant.
Miss Trans Global is an international online pageant that is hosted every year for trans and gender-nonconforming people from all backgrounds. It was started to raise awareness about the LGBTQ community and transgenders globally.
She has finished her schooling at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Kottayam and completed her education at the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, New Delhi.
In June 2018, she was crowned as the ‘Queen of Dhwayah 2018’, in the second year of the beauty pageant held in Kochi. Such inspiring stories from the transgender community give a ray of hope to those who are still struggling to come out for who they are.
Reading and seeing these inspiring stories are making people more aware than they were before. In India, the entire umbrella of subjects of the LGBTQ+ and transgender community is a mystery and taboo that no one likes to talk and discuss. It is time that people start talking about it and give them the rights they deserve.
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