India has the world's largest democracy, but only 10% of the nation's transgender population, which is more than 400,000 people, register to vote.
Election officials are hiring transgender people as election "icons" to promote the upcoming general election. That's how Shaine Soni, a transgender activist and the winner of the Miss Trans Queen beauty pageant in 2020, became the election icon for New Delhi.
But is it promoting inclusion? The Transgender Persons Act of 2019 guarantees equal rights, including the right to participate in elections, and a third gender now appears on election ballots. But to Soni, those are only small steps toward true inclusion.
"Our government recognizes the third gender, but where are the third gender washrooms? Where are the third gender lines?" Soni asked. "How do you expect them to come and cast a vote with their identity as third gender when they are humiliated by cops and society?"