In a first-of-its-kind ceremony, an Indian transgender couple, who both underwent sex re-assignment, took their wedding vows in a traditional Bengali ceremony recently, in what is believed to be the Kolkata's first "rainbow wedding". The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 19, was passed by a voice vote on August 5.
Surrounded by family and friends, bride Tista Das, 38, and groom Dipan Chakravarthy, 40, took part in rituals and pledged their love for each other. “We are feeling awesome actually. We are out of the gender box and we love to be an exception and we think this is a strong bond between us,” Tista Das told AFP on Monday. "It's a bond of love. It's a bond of liberty also," she said. "And this is the solidarity of our souls."
Das said she battled for a long time to “achieve her identity as a woman,” adding: “I was not even considered as a human being in this brutal society.” A transgender friend of the couple, Anurag Maitrayee, said the ceremony was a “beautiful, emotional union of two hearts and two souls.”
Official estimates for India's transgender population are not known but they are thought to number several million. Transgenders often live on the extreme fringes of Indian society, with many forced into prostitution, begging or menial jobs.
And even though The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, has been cleared, the community as well as human rights activists have raised concerns that the bill's language is unclear over whether it allows transgender people to self-identify.
Next Story