Fight for right: Shanavi Ponnusamy arrives at the Chief Minister’s cell at the Secretariat in Chennai on Tuesday. more-in An aspiring air hostess, Shanavi Ponnusamy, a transwoman from Thoothukudi district, submitted a representation at the Chief Minister’s Special Cell here on Tuesday seeking the intervention of the State in ensuring educational and employment opportunities to transpersons in various government departments. “Tamil Nadu is a pioneer State in terms of ensuring rights and justice to transpersons. I request the Tamil Nadu government to urge the Central government to ensure the rights and educational and employment opportunities of transpersons are ensured in Central government departments,” she told reporters. Alleging “discrimination” by the Central government on the basis of gender, Ms. Ponnusamy said the Centre was yet to act on the judgment of the Supreme Court in 2014 acknowledging the members of the transperson community as the third gender. Life of struggle In her five-page letter addressed to the Chief Minister, Ms. Ponnusamy recalled her struggle in her native Thoothukudi district before she completed her engineering course in Chennai. She claimed she worked in a private company and was associated with the customer care of State-run Air India. “Despite having necessary qualification and experience, I am being discriminated against on the basis of gender, as they contend there is no opening for the third gender.” There was a need for a permanent solution to the issue, she said. Ms. Ponnusamy moved the Supreme Court in connection with the case and sent a representation to the President highlighting her ordeal and sought permission for euthanasia. “All I request the Chief Minister is that the way this government is lending a helping hand to the Sri Lankan Tamils and farmers and take up their case with the Centre, as the pioneering in country in ensuring transpersons’ rights, the Tamil Nadu government should take up the case of transpersons community and urge the Centre to ensure educational and employment opportunities to us,” Ms. Ponnusamy urged in her letter.

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