by Anjana Shekar

Bhoomika, a 30-year-old trans woman, spends her days overseeing the functioning of a milk farm located in Manthithoppu, about three kilometres from Kovilpatti town in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district. As the newly appointed president of what she refers to as the country’s very first registered milk society run entirely by trans women, Bhoomika has a lot to take care of. “No matter the adversities that are stacked against us, we now have the faith to overcome them all. This is our life, here with my sisters and the cows, in a place that we can call our own,” she tells TNM.

A former resident of Pudhu Gramam in Kovilpatti, Bhoomika shares that she was forced to change houses three to five times every year due to several issues. “Now there’s peace, finally,” she adds.

Earlier this September, the Thoothukudi district administration inaugurated the first-of-its-kind integrated residential-cum-livelihood centre exclusively for the empowerment of transgender persons in the district. The two-acre land is a housing colony for about 85 trans persons and comes with a dairy farm also run by them. Spearheaded by District Collector Sandeep Nanduri along with trans activist Grace Banu, the project began in July last year. Seven departments including the Revenue, Skill Development, Animal Husbandry, Cooperatives and Rural Development came together to make it possible.

“This has been our dream project which we pursued relentlessly for about seven years and it has come to fruition now. While the previous district administrations have not been helpful, the present Collector has been our main support. To thank him, we have named the colony after him, as Sandeep Nagar,” says Grace Banu.