A true story

Born in a traditional Hindu household in West Bengal, Joyita Mondal suffered a lot of discrimination owing to her being a trans person. She had to drop out of school, sleep at a bus stand, and beg on the streets. It no longer bothers her though, because all of it has contributed to who she is today — India’s first transgender judge. Now 29, Joyita was born ‘Joyonto’ (male) in Kolkata. Unable to conform to the gender norms imposed on her, she dropped out of school after class X. She was unable to take the verbal bullying by other boys in her school. She just told her mother that she had got a job in Dinajpur and wanted to go there. And she never went back. In the initial years she worked for the rights of trans people. Over time, she started working for the rights of anyone and everyone facing any kind of social discrimination. Simultaneously, she also completed her studies through correspondence and got herself a degree in law. In 2010, she was the first trans person from her district to get a voter ID. A few years ago, Joyita started her organisation that is currently reaching out to and helping thousands of people in her district. Almost 10 years after she walked out of her house, Joyita was appointed the judge of a civil court.