Nadira Mehrin is an Indian actress, model, news anchor and television personality who works in the Malayalam entertainment industry. She was the first transgender person from Kerala to take admission in an academic course using the government’s transgender quota, and used the quota to pursue her first post-graduation degree. In 2021, she made headlines for becoming the first transgender woman to enroll in a second post-graduation course under the Kerala government’s transgender quota. In 2023, she appeared as a contestant in the reality show Bigg Boss (Malayalam Season 5) on Asianet channel.
Wiki/Biography
Nadira Mehrin was born on Friday, 17 September 1999 (22 years old; as of 2022) in Manakko, Thiruvananthapuram. Her zodiac sign is Virgo. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from AJ Institute of Technology, Kerala, a master’s degree in political science from University College, Thiruvananthapuram, and a master’s degree in drama from Sanskrit Sri Sankaracharya University, Kerala.
gender transition
Growing up, she knew something about her body was different from others, but she couldn’t tell her family because she was so young at the time. In an interview, she recounted an incident that happened to her in Class 8, when she was sexually assaulted by a classmate. After that, she did not dare to go to school for many days. When she complained about this to her teachers, they took no action and even told her that it happened because she had acted like a girl before. After that, she didn’t go to school until the tenth grade and started studying at home. When she turned sixteen, she realized her identity was different from the one she was assigned at birth (a boy).
Nadira Merlin as a child
A year later, when she was seventeen, she came out and revealed that she was a trans woman, after which she was asked to leave her home.
Nadira Merlin after sex reassignment surgery
In a 2021 interview, she said she still wasn’t accepted by her family, but they were happy she was independent. When she left home, she had no money to continue her studies, but luckily she had help from the trans community to help her complete her studies. To make money, she started tutoring students and doing modeling. As she prepared to graduate, she encountered many problems, such as her university not having gender-neutral restrooms.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′7″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Nadira was born into a Muslim family.
Parents and siblings
There is not much information about her parents and siblings.
Religion/Religious Views
Nadira believes in Islam.
Profession
Model
In 2018, she won the title of Miss Trivandrum.
Nadira Mehrin (centre) wins the title of Miss Trivandrum
actor
In 2022, Nadira made her acting debut with the Malayalam anthology film Freedom Fight.
Nadira Mehrin in the movie “Freedom” (2022)
television personality
In 2023, she appeared in Bigg Boss (Malayalam Season 5) as a contestant.
Nadira Mehrin in Bigg Boss (Malayalam Season 5)
news anchor
She is a news anchor for Malayalam news channel 24 News.
Nadira Mehrin reads news on 24 News
tattoo
- She has an elephant tattooed on her arm
Nadira Merlin’s arm tattoo
- She has a tattoo on her chest
Nadira Merlin chest tattoo
Facts/Trivia
- She follows a non-vegetarian diet.
Nadira Merlin eats chicken
- Whenever she went to the police station to complain about the assault on her, including bullying and coercion, the police would not file an FIR and in fact supported the attackers.
- According to her, education is the only thing that empowers her. She wants to change the way people view trans people. In an interview, she said that she applied for a master’s degree because she hoped other transgender people would have the courage to continue their studies.
- She said in interviews that she faced discrimination when she started acting. She said directors and producers prefer transgender roles to be played by men or women, even if a transgender person can play the role.
- In 2018, while pursuing postgraduate studies in political science at Trivandrum University College, she emerged as a candidate for general secretary of the All India Students Federation (AISF). In 2022, she became the Vice-President of the Federation (AISF). In an interview, when talking about politics, she stated that she has been interested in politics since she was in school. She was pleased that there were many political parties with trans members, but trans people were never supported in elections.
Nadira Mehrin is a member of All India Students Federation
- In 2019, she became a board member of Queerythm LGBTIQ Community.
- In 2019, she started making money by opening a juice stall called “Aanoruthide Kulukkikada” near Tagore Theatre.
Nadira Merlin sells juice
- In 2020, she gave a speech titled “Celebrating Difference” at SAMANWAYA Fest.
- In 2021, she launched Kaleidoscope, an online campaign to spread awareness about transgender people across India. In an interview, she talked about the event and said,
Our goal is to spread awareness so that people can live a dignified life. We also provide mental health support to the community. “
- In 2022, she went live on Facebook and shared that she was asked to leave the hotel at 12pm because she asked the hotel authorities to fix the fan in her room, which was important for her hormone treatment. The incident took place in the deputy warden’s room of the Priyamvada women’s hostel at Kaladi, Sri Shankaracharya Center of Sanskrit University. The warden of the dormitory asked her to leave the dormitory and live somewhere else if she had any problems.
- She has served as an advisor to the Government of Kerala.
- She educates people about sexual minorities.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education