New Delhi: To win an international title for a country that still has its reservations about acknowledging trans people is certainly no mean feat.
Model Archie Singh,22, just made India and the entire Indian trans community proud by becoming the first Indian transwoman to win the second Runner Up at Miss International Trans 2021 held in Colombia, South America, News18 reported.
“When I arrived in Colombia and met my fellow contestants, that made me more strong. We now have such a platform where trans people can showcase themselves and just.. be ourselves without judgement,” she was quoted as saying.
But then there was competition. “I was excited but partly nervous. Participating in this competition was a dream – so it was a competition to make proud India, the LGBTQ community, and my parents,” Archie told News18.
“I have extended my chosen family and proudly I can say my family is across the world, the world is my family. I’m taking all the learning experiences and positivity with me. And in the future, this bond going to be more strong, there more surprises and new work to do together. I am blessed and proud that now I can be a reason to work more towards equality and my community. I feel the journey has begun and there’s a lot of people to encourage, educate to and work for to make this world a better place,” she added on her win.
The journey before the pageant
“You’re not a real woman,” was what an agent for a modelling shoot once Archie Singh.
“I am a woman, and I’m trans but I’m equally a woman. My official government ID recognizes me as a woman, and I have had gender-reassignment surgery, I told them,” Archie said, remembering the discrimination she faced. “But they didn’t listen. They wanted a ‘woman who wasn’t trans’, but didn’t want to say that,” she said in an interview to News18.
“Before that, I was doing social work to spread awareness in people, about trans realities and trying to break the stigma about us,. Modelling just gave me a platform to do that and more. It became my passion,” the young achiever told News18.