As long as any of the ladies at the “Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias” shelter can remember, they’ve been discriminated against. This shelter, located in a humble neighbourhood of Mexico City, houses up to 12 transgender— or “trans” — women at a time.

Despite their poor treatment at the hands of the larger society, these women made a remarkable show of solidarity earlier this year. For several months during the COVID-19 lockdown, the women prepared free meals for others who live in the neighborhood of La Casilda. They made about 80 meals a day for some of the most discarded people in the city, many of them homeless.

While they still face discrimination from many people, they and other LGBTI people in Mexico have the support of United Nations agencies, including UN Women, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

These are some of their stories…