NEW DELHI: Ritika was never confused about her identity. Born as a boy in a conservative Punjabi family, she realised early on that she was “different” from her brothers. When she was in her early twenties, she finally gave up her documented name, Sumir, and assumed the identity she was always comfortable with.

“I knew I was a girl when I was just seven, but the journey from realisation to acceptance was long and difficult. I was a woman trapped in a man’s body and was fighting my own existence,” said Ritika, 27, who now works as a nurse with Samarth, a programme run by NGO India HIV/AIDS Alliance.

On Friday, the NGO organised its flagship programme Hijra Habba , and Ritika was one of the 200-odd LGBTQI community member gathered at Lalit Hotel to talk about their experiences, systemic marginalisation and the discrimination they face in their everyday lives. Read more via Times of India