Shreegauri Sawant is an Indian transgender activist. She is best known for her work as a director of the Sakhi Charchowghi Trust, which works for the welfare of transgender people and people living with HIV/AIDS.
Wiki/Biography
Shreegauri Sawant aka Gauri Sawant was born Ganesh Suresh Sawant on Tuesday, July 22, 1980 in Bhavani Peth (age 42; as of 2022) in Pune, Maharashtra. Her zodiac sign is Cancer.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 9″
Hair color: black
Eye color: brown
family
Shreegauri Sawant belongs to a Marathi family.
Parents and siblings
Her father Suresh Sawant is a police officer.
Shrigauri Sawant’s father
When Gao Li was seven years old, her mother died. She has a sister who is 10 years older than him.
husband and children
As of 2022, Shreegauri is not married yet. In 2008, Gauri adopted a girl whose biological mother died of AIDS. After her mother died, her grandmother sold her into the sex trade. Gauri Sawant then gave money to her grandmother and took the girl with her. Gauri retained the girl’s name Gayatri. In an interview, Gauri said:
I thought relatives would come to pick up the children in a few days. No one came. My mentor said I made a big mistake. I started to wonder why I had gotten myself into this mess. One day, the child was sleeping next to me and put his arms around me. I knew from then on that I would never allow her to leave. Gayatri is now studying to become a doctor and lives in a hotel. “
Shreegauri Sawant and her daughter
She also revealed that even though she has been away from home for 20 years, her family does not accept her. she says,
I used to get a lot of hate, but once the story got out that I adopted a girl, people’s perception of me changed. They never accepted me as trans, but when I became the mother of a five-year-old, they accepted my motherhood. My daughter taught me that you don’t have to have a uterus or bear a child, motherhood is about caring for and loving the child. I was happy when people started recognizing my motherhood. “
Early struggles
While Gauri was at school, her principal called her father to school and told him that Gauri had some feminine characteristics. Gauri’s father got very angry about this and started abusing her. He doesn’t even talk to Gauri anymore. In an interview, Gauri talked about her father’s behavior. Gauri said,
As soon as he came home, I rushed into the bedroom. He couldn’t see my face before. It’s not his fault. My behavior was so feminine that anyone and everyone would make fun of me and call me names. Dad would shoot a gun at work and then come home to a son who was being made fun of by everyone. He wasn’t always like this. When I was young, like any father, he would take me cycling and loved me just the same. But issues of sex, gender, etc. were never discussed in my family; they were not sensitive at all. My father once told me, “Tu road pe taali bajaate ghoomega”. This hurts me. Another time, when I called him to do some work, my “hello” itself was different, so he told me, “Kya hijre jaisa baat karta hai” (Why are you talking like a eunuch?) So, I never answered the phone when he called. “
Gao Li made her sexual orientation clear at a young age, but she didn’t have enough courage to face her father. When Goryeo is home alone, she always dresses up like her grandmother. When she was in school, her classmates often made fun of her. She revealed in an interview that she was abused by her family after they discovered she was wearing a bra under her T-shirt. They often made her open the door while she urinated and forced her to dress up as a boy. When Gauri was 17, he ran away from her house with only 60 rupees. In an interview, talking about leaving home, she said:
I had $60 and knew a train that would leave from Chinchwaad, pass through Pune, and take us to Dadar in Mumbai. I went to Siddhivinayak on Tuesday and had two laddoos bought at prasad for lunch and in the evening, I had ragda pattis at Dadar station. I can’t eat that, the boy who brought me water put his finger in the cup, I can’t drink that! I found a faucet in a cafeteria with rice and food stuck to it, and I drank from it. “
At the time, Gauri had a friend who was a gay, transgender sex worker. Gauri then stayed with him for 2-3 days. She doesn’t think she’s pretty enough to be a sex worker and has no interest in being a beggar. Her friends then introduced her to the LGBTQ organization Humsafar Trust. In an interview, she said of the incident,
I wasn’t pretty or white enough for sex work, so she never offered me a job there. But she fed me, took care of me, and later, I was introduced to Humsafar Trust (one of the oldest LGBTQ organizations in India). By the grace of God, I never have to beg. I’m a pansy, not gay. I am a migrant. I wanted to do something for the trans community. I want to work with underprivileged children and open a shelter for trans people. “
She further revealed that even after more than 20 years, her family still does not accept her. she says,
Aaj 20 saal ho gaye, mere family ne mujhe apnaya nahi. I worked in a children’s shelter for a while because I loved being with the children but they had problems when I identified my gender. My father (the director of the shelter) sent me away. Insaan chand par pahunch gaye, par hum sex mephase hai (On one hand, we put a man on the moon. On the other hand, we are still bound by our gender) Women have not got 33% reservation. What about us? Hamala number kab aayega? (When will it be our turn?)”
Sakhi Charchowghi Trust/Aajicha Ghar
While she was working at Humsafar Trust, she met Indian social activists like Ashok Row Kavi, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi and Kanchana (Gauri’s mentor maa). Later, Gauri decided to transform herself into a ‘hijra’ or third gender and, with the help of a trust, changed her identity from Ganesh to Gauri. In 2000, Ashok Row Kavi came to her with the idea of starting Sakhi Charchowghi Trust, also known as Aajicha Ghar, for the welfare of transgender people and sex workers. Gowrie was subsequently appointed as a director of the trust and associated the trust with the Bombay District AIDS Control Society. Sakhi Charchowghi Trust provides assistance to transgender people and sex workers by providing them with HIV testing camps, free condoms and organizing social awareness campaigns for them.
Shreegauri Sawant stands in front of Sakhi Charchowghi Trust
Activists
In 2009, Gauri filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking legal recognition for transgender people in India. An Indian NGO called the Naz Foundation forwarded her appeal. She is also a petitioner to the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). India’s Supreme Court passed the transgender law after hearing a petition. In 2014, Gauri became the first transgender person in India to file a petition in the Supreme Court of India, demanding adoption rights for transgender people. She is also committed to fighting for basic rights for the LGBTQ community. Later, NALSA made the third gender eligible for Aadhaar card. She said in an interview that she faced many difficulties due to the lack of birth-related documents. she says,
Main ghar se bhaagke aai, kaha se laaun birth certificate, bonafide certificate, PAN card, ration card, Aadhar card (My family abandoned me, how can I produce certificate?)”
Shreegauri Sawant and her companions
She helps provide shelter for transgender people who have been abandoned by their families. Gowrie has long been committed to providing assistance to people living with HIV. When her adopted daughter’s biological mother died of the same disease, she decided to do something for the welfare of people living with AIDS. Gowrie has long been active in animal welfare.
Shreegauri Sawant and her pet dog
“Vickers Care for Generations” short video
In 2017, Gauri appeared in a YouTube video from the Vicks series “Generations of Care”. The video depicts her true story of adopting a transgender girl. The video racked up millions of views within days. Gauri gained huge popularity with this video. In an interview, she said of the incident,
The Ola driver who picked me up wanted to talk to me about advertising, and in public places, people came up to me and wanted to shake my hand. My fellow trans people say you have gotten too big, where do you have time for us now? “
Maharashtra State Election Ambassador
In 2019, Shreegauri Sawant was appointed as one of the 12 election ambassadors for Maharashtra. She became the first transgender person to be elected as an elected ambassador in India. After being appointed as the election ambassador, Gowrie said in an interview,
I want to make sure that everyone doesn’t waste their precious vote. He must vote, not just housewives, but sex workers and trans women in this country. “
Facts/Trivia
- People in her society affectionately call her “Kara”.
- Gao Li said in an interview that because she was born 10 years after her sister, her mother did not want a second child. Her mother even tried to abort her in her seventh month of pregnancy. When talking about this, she said:
My mother didn’t want me to come into this world and even tried to have an abortion in the seventh month. But the doctor told her that the baby had now evolved to be so powerful that even if she ran into a wall, they would not be able to destroy her. I was born into this kind of back-and-forth environment, so my gender identity was equally confusing. “
She also said that since she was a child, she has loved playing games with girls such as “Gaga” and “Teacher”. she says,
I don’t feel like a hijra or a girl, but I know I have some unusual characteristics. I always made friends with girls and never hung out with boys. I love playing ghar-ghar (playing house) with the girls – picking leaves from the ajwain tree, cutting them into small rotis, hats with thumbs on etc, collecting sing-dana and pretending to be in the cooker Cooking them – I thoroughly enjoyed it! I was often scolded for this at home. But I never changed. “
- On one of her talk shows, she shared that when she was about 10 years old, her aunt asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. Gauri replies that she wants to be a mother. Everyone present laughed at her, saying that a boy could never become a mother.
- Gauri has participated in various fashion shows.
Shreegauri Sawant at the fashion show
- In an interview, Gauri said that she has loved watching Indian singer Usha Uthup perform since she was a child. She used to love her dressing style, especially her bindi. In 2017, Gauri and Usha were invited as guest contestants on the Hindi TV show “Kaun Banega Crorepati”.
Shreegauri Sawant and Usha Uthup in Kaun Banega Crorepati (2017)
- She has been invited as a guest speaker on the talk show TEDx Talks many times.
- She has written a book titled Manav Sansadhan Vikas. In 2019, a book titled “Gauri The Urge To Fly” was published based on the story of Gauri Sawant, written by Rhythm Wagholikar.
A book about Shreegauri Sawant
- Gauri was the host of one season of the Marathi talk show Gharo Ghari Matichya Chuli, which aired on TV9 Marathi.
- She has received various awards and honors for her contribution to the welfare of transgender people.
Shreegauri Sawant honored at an event
- In 2022, Indian actress Sushmita Sen announced on her Instagram account that she will be playing the role of Shreegauri Sawant in the Hindi web series “Taali”.
Sushmita Sen plays Shreegauri Sawant in ‘Taali’
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education