Abheena Aher, from sex work to global trans activist
Interview
‘Be your own Mahatma Gandhi or Rani Lakshmi Bai. Don’t expect someone else to bring about change, Be the change’
I was introduced to Abheena Aher through a common friend Sharif Rangnekar. Her reputation precedes her and she lived up to every bit of it. I had approached her to be on the jury for #SABERA. She represents the transgender community and is a strong voice from the development sector. After meeting her and listening to her journey, I couldn’t help but request for her time to record this interaction. It took a few months before we could actually record owing to here commitments internationally. But am happy to have found her at her candid best.
I was in awe of Abheena as an individual with a positive approach to life despite all the challenges she met with. Abheena shared that listening to others’ stories made her own journey feel not so tough. And I wonder, here is a person who fights daily for a mere recognition as being human and still has an empathetic view of the world. I have a lot to learn.
From struggles of self acceptance that led to attempts to commit suicide, Abheena’s journey is fraught with the most challenging milestones, to now where she is an agent of change. From being a subject of hate crimes in school to sex work on the mumbai railway tracks. Abheena has seen it all and is now the only voice representing transgenders at a global level. Its a story of extreme strife to triumph #Likeaboss. She attributes the emancipation only to the opportunities she got. Though a software engineer by profession had she not received those breaks, she may have continued to been on the tracks begging or being a sex worker.
Btw she is a jury member on SABERA to be held on November 14th and will also share some bit of her life through the awards show in December. SABERA if you don’t already know are the Social and Business Enterprise Responsible Awards – that recognise Good! Submit the GOOD work done by you to help us acknowledge and amplify your voice!
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