Our Turn To Clap: Five Transgenders Employed For Ward Security In Odisha Hospital

Malkangiri: Call it revolutionary, noble, inclusive, bold or encouraging step, the District Headquarter Hospital (DHH) of Malkangiri recently employed five transgenders as security officials for its Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department. Above all, it is an empowering step to legitimise the LGBTQI community in the work space and give it the dignity that is long overdue.

Needless to say that the five appointees, Durga, Sonali, Tushar Pattnaik, Kailash Dora and John Hial are on top of the world and feel blessed to be among the first to be chosen for a mainstream job and that too of such responsibility in a public service place. They were appointed under the Nirmal Scheme ( Odisha’s government’s affordable healthcare scheme) by a private security firm and trained by the Malkangiri Police before getting posted at DHH.

The duty of these security guards is no different than those of the rest. They are responsible for maintaining order and decorum in the wards, give a helping hand to the patients and their families and above all, take care of the security. Theirs is an eight-hourly rotational shift.

Their journey this far was not as difficult as they had anticipated. Of course they had inhibitions but all of them gained confidence when the process began and shed their fear. Out of the 15 who had received training for two weeks days from the district administration at the SP office, only these five were selected for Malkangiri DHH.

The positive and welcoming attitude of the doctors, the rest of the staff and now even the patients and their attendants has given a further boost to their confidence, which automatically translates to sincere and dedicated work.