There are around 25,000 self-declared transgender individuals in Kerala based on the transgender survey held in 2014. However, activists claim there are around 40,000 of them. But when it comes to the voters’ list, there are only 376 of them, while only 150 of them voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
This stark difference in numbers is mainly attributed to the attitude of society towards transgender individuals despite the awareness campaigns and their increasing presence in various walks of life. As a result, many of them refuse to come out as transgender and would rather be known as male or female.
Sandhya Basky, a paralegal volunteer and a law student from Kannur, did not notice that her gender was marked as ‘female’ until after she voted in the recent Lok Sabha polls. While she is not ashamed of being ‘transgender’, she suspects many people are. “I know a lot of people, especially transmen, who refuse to accept their transgender identity,” she said.
