With cases of rape of minor girls and atrocities on women rising in the State, 32-year-old transgender Menaka Kinnar, contesting the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections from Ward-15, on Tuesday pledged to end the menace.
She said protection of girls and women at large is the priority of the Odisha Hinjada Mahasangha (OHM). She is contesting the polls to prove that eunuchs can more effectively become people’s representatives than their male and female counterparts,” Menaka alias Prasant Parida said.
Clad in a blue saree, she goes round the houses in the ward. She is facing stiff opposition from the candidates belonging to the BJD, Congress and BJP and Independents. She claimed that a large number of women and girls are her supporters and their votes would ensure her victory. However, some elements from among the males use to pass comments to her and her sisters when they go on campaigning, she rued.
A matriculate, Menaka, a native of Jagatsinghpur district, said she understands the plight of women and girls. She wants to give a message through the elections that eunuchs are not less than males, she said. While Menaka and many from her community are busy in election campaigning, some of her friends go to places across the State and beg money to fund election campaigning. OHM president Pratap Sahu said there are 19,000 eunuchs in the State and they contribute to Menaka’s poll fund.