For the first time in Madhya Pradesh, the State has appointed Sanjana Singh, a transgender government officer. The 36-year-old recently joined as the personal secretary to the director of the Department of Social Justice and Disabled Welfare (DSJDW).
Sanjana was forced to abandon her family at a young age of 15, and join a transgender group. Finally, after delighting over her achievement, she finally feels like she’s achieved her ‘due place in society.’
Preceding her present post, Sanjana was the first para-legal volunteer of District Legal Services Tribunal and was also a nominated member of Lok Adalat of the tribunal, hearing the cases in the company of other judges. Sanjana was also associated with an NGO and was working on child and women health since 2008.
Besides being abandoned by her family, she was also abandoned by the transgender community that she grew up with because she refused to be a part of the community that sought money during festivities and celebrations.
In 2015, Singh and her team aggressively campaigned against open defecation in Madhya Pradesh that brought her recognition. Sanjana and her NGO proactively worked together with the Madhya Pradesh Government on Swachhta Mission and have been linked to the program since 2014
Even though Sanjana is a government officer, she repeatedly stated that being a transgender is still a curse in this country where the third gender is still unaccepted. She thanked the Madhya Pradesh government for offering her a platform to live her life more respectfully and also conveyed a message to other transgender communities by urging them to come forward and contribute to the society by recognizing their own talents.
However, she laid emphasis on the fact that more opportunities and reservations need to be provided to the transgender community, just like others. She further insisted that if the society doesn’t accept them, then they will not be able to break their barriers.
