A will to win
February 16, 2016K. Prithika Yashini fought a long legal battle to become the first trans-woman sub-inspector in the country
K. Prithika Yashini talks in a measured tone, her voice revealing no
emotion during the one-hour-long conversation. She has a well-framed
answer to every question, probably due to her numerous media
interactions over the last few weeks. But mention ‘khaki’ and her eyes
light up; suddenly, she’s an excited 20-something on the cusp of a dream
life.
“I can’t wait to wear the uniform,” she grins. “I will be the first
transgender to don the khaki as a sub-inspector, imagine!” The
25-year-old is set to become the first trans-woman sub-inspector in
Tamil Nadu and is probably the first transgender sub-inspector in India
too.
Prithika’s life follows a pattern that’s similar to any transgender’s.
But what makes her different, is her refusal to give up on life. She
spent most part of this year in court, taking on a system that makes it a
nightmare for someone like her to be treated like a normal person.
It all began in early 2015, when Prithika applied for the post of
sub-inspector of police with the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services
Recruitment Board. “My application was rejected since there was
confusion with my name; also, the form had only the male and female
categories to choose from and I chose female,” she says. She decided to
go to court; for she wanted a fair chance at the recruitment process.
Thus began a legal battle that Prithika fought with the help of advocate
Bhavani Subbarayan till she got her due.
“The High Court passed an order granting me permission to appear for the
written exam,” she says. Every stage of the recruitment process was an
obstacle due to her gender. “In the end, I attended the interview and a
court order was passed to grant me an SI post,” she says.
Seated in her shared, one-room home, her eyes frequently drawn to the
mobile phone in her hand, Prithika remembers her teenage years as the
son of a driver-tailor couple in Salem. “It was when I was in class XI
that I felt different. I didn’t feel like a boy.”
Her parents, who were helpless, took her to temples, doctors and even
astrologers to “set things right”. But Prithika knew what she wanted by
then: friendship and a life in which she could be herself. She ran away
to Chennai in 2011 and landed at Central Station, with nothing but a few
phone numbers to start with.
Soon, Prithika realised transgenders accepted people into their
community more readily than society; for most transgenders are quick to
trust and give. “I made new friends… Banu, Selvi, Smiley, Glady, Swappna
and Selvam and got a job as a warden in a ladies hostel.” She spent the
next few years changing jobs and houses. “I’ve changed up to seven
houses till date,” she says. “I now work for an app developer as a
curator of stories about my community.”
Now that she’s in the spotlight, Prithika feels she’s in a responsible
position. “I want to be an example for my community and do whatever I
can for them,” she says. “I hope to become a respected sub-inspector;
one who places her duty ahead of everything else.” Prithika aims to
crack the UPSC exam and become an IPS officer. “There’s so much I want
to do! I want to work towards reservation for transgenders in education
and employment and for the cause of women and the lesser-privileged.”
But mostly, she hopes to sit quietly with a book and read. “I couldn’t
read anything in peace over the last few months, let alone study for my
exams. I spent most of the days I was supposed to be studying, in court.
It was 10.30 at night when I got my hall ticket for the exam which was
to happen the next day. I didn’t sleep a wink that night,” she says.
Those were difficult times — the unending travels to the High Court; the
long hours of waiting in the premises to be called; the uncertainty —
but in the end it was all worth it.
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