Transgender Day of Visibility

“The toughest challenge for me was finding somewhere to be safe, to be myself,” says Nayana Udupi, my Wonder Transwoman. We take safety, dignity and respect for granted, but not Nayana, a marketing associate at ThoughtWorks, who made her transition, a few years ago. Talking to her made me realize that we’ve come a long way, yes, but have miles to go before our society is more accepting of the choices we make.   Nayana travelled far from home because she was shunned. She lived in Pune and financially provided for her family in Karnataka. Nayana shared that “It was in Pune that I went through the transition of becoming a woman and I remember sending a picture of myself, in my new avatar, to my mother. After that, she began referring to me, as her daughter and asked me to come back home.” After a 10 year long wait, she was finally also welcomed into a company that celebrated her identity and never made her feel discriminated against. It was always her dream to be a part of corporate India and Nayana is now living that dream. She has found her closest friends at her workplace, found her voice and never lets go of opportunities to debate, discuss and highlight matters concerning LGBTQ awareness and human rights. Nayana has much more to share, but I will save it for another time. Today, I just wanted you to meet Nayana who knows that freedom comes from being bold.