Khoj: Trans Women Recount The Struggles They Faced In the Search for Housing

Avni is part of the Kinnar community and works with them and Muskan is a home cook who starred in 'Ek Jagah Apni'.

Trans women talk about the struggles they faced while searching for housing and jobs.

(Photo Courtesy: Arnab Chakravorty)

The transgender community in India has been visible for decades but their struggles are often invisiblised. In an attempt to highlight some of these struggles, The Quint spoke to two trans women, Avni and Muskan, about their attempts to find housing. 

They also discussed the discrimination they face on a daily basis due to their identity and opened up about the world they hope to one day see. 

Avni, who belongs to and works with the Kinnar community, says that they’ve looked at least 100-150 houses to rent. Muskan, who works as a house cook and made her acting debut with Ek Jagah Apni, recounts, 

“When we ask someone to rent us a flat, they suddenly say, 'We can't rent to you; we want to rent to families'. We want good, sophisticated people."

Muskan

“People in societies say that we'll ruin their surroundings and have a bad influence on their children,” Avni adds. This social exclusion, coupled with a lack of support from family, pushes trans people out of public spaces and leads to ghettoisation. 

Avni and Muskan also allege that brokers would either trick them or ask them for a ‘physical relationship’ in return, “We talked to many brokers but many of them took an advance payment but refused to rent out a flat. Some of them tried to force us to have a physical relationship with them.”

They go on to talk about how people perceive trans people, what their ‘ideal world’ looks like, and much more.

Watch the video for more.