First Transgender Judge Of India – Joyita Mondal

“I’m a Boy that was born as a Girl,

and has to prove myself every day

that I am man enough for the world”

Joyita Mondal

The above quote isn’t just a word together; it has a lot of pain behind it, an inspiration, and a message for all of us.

In a country where there is a lot of social injustice exists, people are assessed by their appearances. Among us, there is one group that is the worst treated and the most ignorant of all. The discrimination against them is still in abundance. But one person from that community, known as the ‘third gender’ took a stand and became an inspiration.

In this part of our Unsung Heroes series, I’m going to talk about a fearless, enthusiastic, optimistic human being named ‘Joyita Mondal‘. Born in a Hindu family in Kolkata, West Bengal.  Joyita was named ‘Joyonto’ (a male) initially. However, after a while, when she got to know about her identity as a transgender, she hid it from our society, but eventually came out against all the odds.

According to the 2011 census, there are around 5 million transgender people in India, most of whom are victimised by society. People judged them as sex workers and only called them in the auspicious events to congratulate and give blessings.

But no one ever wants to know their tragic stories and what they are going through with all the nuisance and hatred.

Whereas Joyita Mondal chooses her own way to be a symbol of inspiration. Let us unfold her story from school dropout to India’s First Transgender Judge.

Joyita Mondal’s Early Life And Discrimination

Joyita Mondal’s life is no less than a miserable life, with lots of discrimination, hate, failure, perhaps she was strong enough to never let her morale down. At the age of 10, she found her interest in wearing clothes like girls, playing with dolls, and every girly thing.

However, she was not supposed to do that because she was born a boy. And her family was not expecting that opposite behaviour from her side. She revealed, “I would dress as a girl when I went outside and change before the house I returned”.

Her anguish can be examined by knowing that she dropped out of school after the 10th class because she was unable to conform to the gender norms imposed on her. She was bullied all the time because of her appearance.

Often time she kept hiding her identity and her liking for girly things from society.

Recalling the tough time, she said, “I didn’t tell my family that I was unable to take verbal bullying by other boys in my school. I just told my mother that I had got a job in Dinajpur, and I wanted to go there. I told her that I would come back in two months if things didn’t work out, and she consented”.

However, she lied and came to Islampur in the Uttar Dinajpur district and never went back. Her problems hadn’t halted yet, she was suffering from basic needs like food, shelter & health.

Nobody there was ready to give her a room in the hotel because of the typical stereotypes, and also prohibited her from entering the restaurants even after she was ready to pay.

Doctors refused to give her proper treatment because she was from another group. Police refused to file a complaint and insulted her in the police station, calling her undisciplined and dishonest. 

All these things shattered her from inside, but her dreams were bigger than these hurdles. Afterwards, she decided to start a new journey and fight against the social injustice that prevails for these people.

From School Dropout To India’s First Transgender Judge

When approximately every hotel refused to give her a hotel room, she made the nearest bus stop a shelter. She used to sleep at night there and sometimes also begged on the streets for food.

Later, she decided to join Kinnar Samaj (a group of trans people), where she started to go to parties and big events to earn money. In India, people treat their arrival and blessings as good luck, but never pay respect to them. The discrimination and ignorance still threaten the survival and livelihoods of the community.

Moreover, many transgender people go to a marriage function or birth anniversaries to give blessings for getting some money in return. The same became the daily schedule for Joyita, but her goal was different.

She decided to complete her education first, which she chose to take her education through correspondence. Because the earlier hate and mockery against her by her classmates had shattered her badly. She got herself a Law degree.

But that was not enough to break the stereotypical thinking of the society. She decided to work for the welfare of people, especially for the community to which she belongs.

She later started an organisation with her local transgender friend’s name, Dinajpur Noton Alo Society, on January 10, 2010, which helped thousands of people in the district.

Over the seven years after the inception of Dinajpur Noton Alo society (also known as Dinajpur New Light), it has grown to help over 2000 transgender people in the region. After the commendable success of her organisation, her confidence was boosted to new heights, and she decided to expand her social work further.

In an interview, she said, “A year after registration in 2011, I got my first big break in a foreign project for legal aid to transgender of the region in 2012. I gave legal aid to 200 transgender people during that project, and was appreciated by the government. Since then, we built an old-age shelter in 2015 and got voter ID cards made for transgender people in two brothels in Islampur”.

It’s amazing to know that Joyita Mondal is the first transgender person to get a voter ID card in her district. Also, she is the first transgender person to vote in the elections from her district.

Legal Right To Transgender In India Gave Joyita Mondal A New Hope

After having a legal right to trans people in India, many transgender people got a new hope to achieve their dreams. They can now plan their life according to themselves, and they can now move freely. I remember that one famous quote from MANABI BANDYOPADHYAY that sheds light on the above revolution:

“Be Yourself, The World Will Adjust”

Manabi BAndyopadhyay

The Transgender Person (Protection Of Right) Act, 2019 (Transgender Person Act) seeks to recognise the identity of a transgender person and prohibit discrimination in, inter alia, the fields of education, employment, healthcare, holding or disposing of property, holding public or private office and access to and use of public services and benefits.

In light of the above law, the Indian government decided to appoint Joyita Mondal as the First Transgender Judge of Islampur Lok Adalat (Civil Court) in July 2017.

It’s exciting that earlier she used to spend restless bedtimes in the bus stand, and now she is the judge of the Lok Adalat, which is just 10 minutes away from that same bus stand.

However, Joyita’s motive is much bigger than being a Justice; she wants to break the stereotypical mentality of society towards transgender people. She said, “A handful of us becoming judges, principals won’t bring a change. Still, Transgenders are working as sex workers and begging on trains, individual success means nothing”.

Also read: The Dark Side of Sex Workers’ Lives

Her dream is to provide education to other transgender individuals and urge the government to appoint them at least as a group D staff, where physical labour is involved. She said, “Even if 2-3% of transgender people in Islampur get dignified jobs, I would consider my appointment as beneficial for my community. They would not have to work as sex Workers for 200-300 Rs and begging on a train or streets”.

Heroes like Joyita Mondal not only inspire us but also give a light of hope to the vulnerable section of India, who have been fighting for their rights for decades. Not only Joyita Mondal but also many transgender also work for their community. Like Manabi Bandyopadhyay, the first transgender Ph.D. professor of India. Padmini Prakash, the first Tamil TV news anchor. Kalki Subramaniam, an International speaker, trans activist, and many more.

But still, society won’t recognise the crucial part they’re playing, still, some stereotypical thinking keeps them ignorant and vulnerable. Why transgender is still a punishment?

Hope everyone will teach their child, they’re not different, they are as human as us.

Source:

• Meet the First Transgender judge of India– Womensenews.org
• From sleeping in bus stand to first transgender Judge– Drilers.com

Do let us know about the Unsung heroes you know that are doing or did tremendous work for the betterment of society. We’ll be glad to do more research about them and will write a tribute dedicated to them.