From living in trains to heading transgender rights board: Sonalee Chaukekar’s journey of grit

With her appointment as co-chairperson of the Transgender Persons Protection of Rights and Welfare Board for the Konkan Division on Tuesday, Chaukekar hopes that transgender persons abandoned by their own will have a forum to approach.

Mumbai: Once disowned by her family, Sonalee Chaukekar, 35, spent a month not just begging but living on Mumbai’s local trains. “I would sleep in the train, use public toilets to clean up, and ask someone for a vada pav whenever I got hungry. I had to forget about clean clothes and my mother’s cooking,” said Chaukekar.

From living in trains to heading transgender rights board: Sonalee Chaukekar’s journey of grit

She now works in the front office of a private firm in a swanky building in Malad. With her appointment as co-chairperson of the Transgender Persons Protection of Rights and Welfare Board for the Konkan Division on Tuesday, Chaukekar hopes that transgender persons abandoned by their own will have a forum to approach.

Chaukekar, one of two trans women appointed to the board, is aware that her experience will resonate with many, and she has resolved to work towards empowering transgender persons.

“Most transgender persons have to separate from their families. They face many issues of housing, healthcare, harassment, bullying, and we will strive to get them the respect that every individual deserves,” said Chaukekar, a resident of Bandra East. The Konkan Division of the Board will cater to Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and the neighbouring coastal districts.

“I’ve experienced everything. Bullying and harassment in school, ostracisation, mental torture, but I had nowhere to go. I kept it all to myself. But with our divisional board, I hope that our people (transgenders) become aware that there is a platform for them,” said Chaukekar, who studied in a school in Bandra East. She is currently pursuing a two-year MBA course in finance at Welingkar Institute of Management, and eventually found acceptance from her family. She lives close to her mother in the neighbourhood she grew up in.

The board was constituted under the Maharashtra government’s social justice and special assistance department on December 13, 2018. It was formed under the chairmanship of the divisional commissioner (revenue). The functions of the divisional board include overseeing the implementation of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, protection against discrimination, access to welfare and grievance redressal, data collection and supporting the rescue and rehabilitation of transgender persons.

Chaukekar said that the board will also have a remit for programmes on financial literacy, livelihoods, and skill development to help transgenders secure appropriate employment opportunities.

Nilofer Maske, 42, also appointed a member of the divisional board, has been working for two decades as part of the Humsafar Trust to empower transgender people. She has worked extensively to sensitise law enforcement agencies, legal, medical, and educational institutions to the rights of transgender people.

Maske, who has worked across India, said that there is greater awareness in metropolitan cities, but transgender persons in remote parts of the country still struggle with discrimination and acceptance. Maske, who has a Bachelor’s degree in science, said that her focus in the future would be on skill development for ageing transgender persons who struggle with finding shelter and making ends meet.