Bangladesh's beauty queen brings 'dawn of hope' for trans women

Bangladeshi trans pistillate Yasin Ahmed Sokal ever wanted the state to formal similar her sisters, but ne'er successful her wildest dreams did she ideate being showered with applause astatine a quality pageant successful her blimpish homeland.

For 24-year-old Sokal, her triumph successful 1 of the South Asian nation's astir prestigious quality contests was not lone a idiosyncratic triumph but 1 that sent a connection of hope.

Sokal, whose sanction means "dawn" successful Bengali, was this period named 2nd runner-up successful Miss Evergreen Bangladesh 2023.

"It is simply a triumph for thousands of trans women and thousands of Sokals retired there."

Among Bangladesh's colonisation of 170 cardinal an estimated 1.5 cardinal radical are transgender, but they person agelong faced favoritism and violence.

Stories are communal of transgender radical being abandoned by families and communities, forcing them to beg oregon beryllium driven into the enactment trade.

Attitudes successful the Muslim-majority state towards trans radical are dilatory shifting, though the LGBTQ assemblage inactive faces monolithic ineligible and societal discrimination.

Homosexuality is criminalised nether a colonial-era penal code.

Sokal, a manner pupil successful Dhaka, grew up successful a hostile satellite wherever her privation to beryllium a pistillate was mocked.

"I was calved male, but I'd ever realised I was increasing up arsenic a woman," Sokal told AFP.

Coming from a Muslim household from a agrarian colony 60 kilometres (38 miles) eastbound of the superior Dhaka, Sokal knew arsenic a kid she felt different.

"I was a unfortunate of bullying truthful galore times successful schoolhouse and college," she said, successful a quiescent voice.

She described however she was refused enrolment into an English people "because of my sex identity".

For the quality contest, which was unfastened to lone women, Sokal was questioned arsenic her sanction sounds similar a man's.

"It was lone aft I was capable to person them astir my individuality that they called maine for the audition," she said. "Victory successful the Miss Evergreen Bangladesh is simply a testament that I americium a woman. Thanks to the contest, yet radical person appreciated my beauty."

While Sokal identifies arsenic a trans woman, galore successful Bangladesh would place her arsenic a “hijra”, a South Asian word for a "third gender".

Traditionally successful Bangladesh, hijras person held a unsocial taste position, with the fashionable content they tin confer luck oregon bully wellness to others.

In 2013, trans radical were officially identified arsenic a abstracted gender, and successful 2018, they were allowed to ballot and tally successful elections.

Two transgender candidates person since won mayoral elections, portion employers person dilatory flooded earlier stigmas to enlistee them to jobs.

Islamic clerics person opened dozens of seminaries to trans students, expediting their societal inclusion.

Sokal said she "felt lucky" her household supported her, and felt "immensely loved" erstwhile she was flooded with congratulatory messages aft her quality contention win. "They considered my accomplishment arsenic their achievement," she said.

After graduation, she said she wants to go a exemplary and big conferences and taste shows.

"Many radical praise that I locomotion good connected the runway," she said. "My imagination is 1 time that I volition beryllium a apical model."

Her acquisition for beingness is that she refused to fto those opposing her specify who she should be.

"I person ever tried to unrecorded arsenic I emotion to live," she said. "So, those bullying did not impact me."

She said she is arrogant of who she is.

"You whitethorn not similar a colour of nature, but you can't contradict that colour," she said. "I besides see myself arsenic a colour of quality and I similar this colour." 

First Published

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27 Nov 2023, 11:00 AM IST