Victory Institute met with eight trans and hijra rights activists from India who were visiting the United States last Wednesday.
The group of activists were participating in the State Department’s International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP). Victory is working with Solidarity Foundation to encourage LGBTIQ leaders to participate in political processes through trainings and creating opportunities for LGBTIQ people to fully participate in civil society.
Among the trans leaders in participation were Jaya Annamalai of Sahodran, Gazal Dhaliwal, freelance screenwriter, Rupika Dhillon, Project Director at Society for People’s Awareness, Care and Empowerment (SPACE), Sadhana Kinner of SAKHA, Rudra Kishore Mandal, Independent Art Professional, Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli and Rachana Mudraboyina from Telangana Hijra Transgender Samiti and Meera Parida from Odisha Kinner Mahasangha.
At the meeting, Victory staff and the activists discussed Victory’s work in India as well as recent regressive laws passed in India. The need for LGBTIQ people to engage in politics to prevent such legislation from becoming law is highly apparent.
The international leadership team at the Victory Institute left the meeting inspired by the fierce leadership of the activists. The staff are excited to move forward with the work with Solidarity through research on political participation of LGBTIQ people, training out leaders and organizing civil society meetings for networking and exchange of best practices.
