Transgenders Globally and Indian Hijras

SETU’s upcoming production, Seven Steps around the Fire, at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, is a thriller by Mahesh Dattani and directed by Subrata Das.

A unique feature complementing the play: SETU is conducting a panel discussion from 4 pm to 5 pm on 12th November about Transgenders Globally and Indian Hijras. We are fortunate to have two panelists who are transgender women of the Indian South Asian diaspora living in the United States.

Seats at the theater are limited and first preference will be given to patrons with show tickets.

Panel organizers: Dipali Trivedi, Mukta Munjal, Gitanjali Srivastava, and Jayanti Bandyopadhyay.

Panel Summary: SETU, in its path to bridging the knowledge gap, presents a panel discussion shedding light on the Indian Hijra community. The atrocities, the injustice, the marginalization, and the social malaise still exist in India are viewed from across the globe with real-life experiences shared by the South-Asian trans-community in the United States.

Moderator: Jayanti Bandyopadhyay

Presenting: Anjali Rimi (She/They) is a transgender, immigrant woman from the Kinnar community. She is of South Asian Indian origin and is based in San Francisco. Anjali is the president of Parivar Bay Area ( www.parivarbayarea.org), America’s only Transgender-led, South Asian Queer organization helping many communities including the chitai community back in India to get an education, medical care, and employment opportunities. This is to encourage an alternative means of survival, drawing them away from earning their livelihood through sex work and begging. She serves on numerous boards in organizations serving the LGBTQ communities in the Bay area along with congressional recognitions from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Scott Wiener, and San Francisco Mayor London Breed.

Lana Patel (she/her) is an Afro-Indo-Caribbean Hindu woman from New York City who has relocated to Southern California. She serves on the board and as the Vice President of Parivar Bay Area ( www.parivarbayarea.org). Lana is currently the PR and Government Liaison for Plume, a digital Healthcare company for trans people made by trans people.