BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik has appointed transgender social activist Meera Parida as vice-president of the Biju Mahila Janata Dal. In what is the first case of its kind in Odisha, a member of the LGBTQ community has been appointed in such a prestigious post of the women’s wing of a political party.
“We must not ignore the ground reality where transgenders are clubbed with women. This is a small step in the right direction that may well lead to a LGBTQ wing in a political party sometime in the future. In any case, I like to identify myself as a trans-woman rather than a transgender,” Meera said.
Meera’s appointment, however, does not just have to do with her transgender status but a recognition of the path-breaking work she has done as an activist fighting for the rights of her community, HIV/AIDS victims and sundry other activities. She is the chairperson of All Odisha Transgender Welfare Trust, president and co-founder of ‘Sakha’, the first community-based organisation working for the LGBT community in the State, and was also the president of the Odisha Kinnar Mahasangha for seven long years from 2009 to 2016. She is also a UNDP-approved ‘master trainer’ in HIV/AIDS and has conducted numerous training programmes for activists working in the field. Her crowning glory came when she represented India in a delegation of members of the transgender community on a visit to the White House, Washington. She was the first from the community from Odisha to get the honour.
The journey from a nondescript village in the Begunia area of Khordha district to the White House, however, did not come easy. Coming as she did from an extremely poor family, her childhood and early adulthood was a period of extremely hard struggle. For a brief while, she even had to beg on the streets.
Like all members of her community, she faced the barbs of all and sundry as she made her transition from Mayadhar Parida to Meera Parida, having a sex change operation along the way.
Asked if she would be accepted by the women in the BJD as an equal, Meera said she has no apprehensions on this score. “I have worked for the BJD for over a decade now; and I have never once felt unwelcome in my interactions with Naveen Patnaik or other leaders of the party, whether men or women. My work has fetched me this post, not my gender. I am sure I will be accepted by the women of the party without any reservations,” she said.
Meera strongly refutes the suggestion that the post of vice-president of the women’s wing was a ‘consolation prize’ for being denied a party ticket to contest elections.
