Anonnya Banik, transgender woman and Liaison Officer at Bandhu Social Welfare Society, shows us how to be optimistic in the face of daunting odds
By Natasha Rahman
Photograph by Choudhury Safwat Gani
Embracing your identity is laborious if your society isn’t ready to welcome you with open arms. However, that doesn’t dampen Anonnya’s spirits. She dances, sings and rejoices being the women she is with aplomb. Britto Arts Trust, Bangladesh’s first artist-run alternative arts platform, co-founded by Tayeba Begum Lipi, made three documentaries on her story. “My love for performing arts is immense. I was in Reversal Reality , one of the documentaries that gained international recognition. It was also my first solo show that was broadcasted at the Shrine Empire Gallery, Delhi last year,” she reminisces.
In 2012, Angie Hiesl Production, a performance arts company in collaboration with Goethe-Institut and Bandhu Social Welfare Society worked closely with sexual minorities for a documentary. “They documented everything we did during rehearsals. Our traditions, way of life; the songs we sing, the words we write- they analyse everything,” she reveals. Angie Hiesl Production projected the transgender identity with performers from Bangladesh and Europe. “Through the documentaries, our passions, interests and needs are highlighted. It gave us a platform to express what we normally can’t,” she shares.
Although the government recognised hijras as the third gender in 2013, development for the community in terms of social, health and medical welfare still remains a work in progress. “I am thankful to our government for creating a space for us and allowing people from our communities to stand for elections; however we have a long way to go.”
As the Liason Officer at Bandhu Social Welfare Society, Anonnya works closely with sexual minority organisations all over the country. “I monitor and intervene if and when rights of the minorities are breached by providing solutions with the help of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and the Human Rights Commission.”
The provisions made by the government to secure our social, environmental and medical rights are still in their initial stages. “My gender is still a woman in my passport, bank account and voter ID, but I will keep fighting for the rights of my community,” she emphasises. However, there’s another area of rights that are being violated. “We have no legal documents to validate our relationships with our partners. But it’s time to take things into stride and get what we deserve.” According to Anonnya, there is a severe social pressure on partners after a certain amount of time to get on with their lives and walk out of the relationships. “I wish to take legal initiatives which will ensure the safety and commitment of a relationship. It shouldn’t be so easy to walk out of a commitment. In that case, once legal implications are passed by the government, we will feel more secure in our relationships,” she asserts.
According to her, every revolution has a rocky start. “We are shunned by our families, our society, and sometimes even our partners. I have been working with the rights of transgender for 16 years now. We have created our own language to communicate. Although we are kept separate from society, we are still a part of the same society,” she explains. Anonnya dreams for a day when we all can coexist with each other happily and peacefully.