‘Sheikh Hasina is a guardian with whom we can share our plights’
Transgender activist Hochemin Islam recounts her 30-minute conversation with PM
"Like her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she is our guardian, I still can't get over the fact that I had a 30-minute interaction with her… this is a milestone of a lifetime for me."
It all started with a text message from a transgender activist to the prime minister.
"I did not imagine a simple text message would open up this incredible opportunity for me to meet the PM and have a very frank conversation with her," Hochemin Islam recounted the experience.
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"Despite a hectic schedule, she still gave me 30 minutes of her time," Hochemin excitedly said.
"Her government has taken a number of measures to change the course of our lives for good," the transgender activist said.
"In a war torn country, the women who survived the torture and assault of Pakistan army in 1971, faced social isolation. Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman then asked Bangladesh to give due honour and dignity to them and called them his daughters," she added.
"Like her father, Sheikh Hasina has provided us with a new lease of life… that makes her our guardian with whom we can share our plights and seek solutions to age-old social discrimination and torment that plague us," Hochemin said.
"Moreover, under her rule, our community got recognized as a third gender in 2013 while under the premier's Ashrayan project, members of the community have received new homes — a first in the country's history," transgender activist Hochemin said.
