Meet transgender photojournalist Zoya Lobo

Zoya Lobo, 27, came out as transgender to her family nine years ago and went in search of a guru from within the community in Mumbai. She found one, and began to seek alms on local trains. I decided to be open about my identity, she says. Then she landed a role in a short film about the community, made a strident speech about the injustice meted out to transgender people, and was hired as a freelance journalist by the local media outlet College Times. Photography became her medium of storytelling. In April 2020, her photos of the massive migrant workers’ protests near Bandra station were picked up by major publications, including HT. This brought Lobo more work. It’s been a rollercoaster ride she couldn’t have imagined, she says.