Anjali Siroya, a 20-year-old transgender won this year’s ‘Rose Queen’ title at Matunga’s Ramnarain Ruia College. The mass media student won the college’s annual Rose Day award but she was still unsure if she’d win the title since she has identified herself as a transgender.
Siroya explained that she was extremely happy to participate in the competition and actually win it. She further went on to state how two years ago, when she was known as Ajay, she had actually confessed to her parents about her identity. Siroya is the college’s first transgender to participate in the event.
As a trans-person, she was diplomatic about whether she would be able to participate or not. She wanted to participate in the female category and the organisers supported her by approving her inclusion.
Siroya’s friends and cousins knew about her female identity and so they would tease her by the name Anjali. Initially, her parents thought that she was being teased by some girl’s name but soon she told them about her true identity and how she felt that ‘she was a woman trapped in a man’s body.’ It was difficult for her parents but then they accepted her as time passed.
The contest in which Siroya emerged victorious consists of multiple rounds that test the participants’ literary and performance skills, a photo session and ramp walk along with a Q&A session. Siroya who lives in Chembur with her parents said that during the literary round, they had to write a letter to ‘the future me’. Siroya wrote about the transformation she went through and how she became Anjali from Ajay.
Meanwhile, creating a gender-neutral society can be a major step towards achieving the goal of equality amongst all. Siroya emerging as the ‘Rose Queen’ shows how slowly and gradually we are moving towards a change.
(Photo Credits: Hindustan Times)
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