Welcome to Clearing The Haze – Making the invisible visible, a podcast show that discusses topics that are usually invisible or just hazy. Hosted by Shachi Irde.

Shachi wears many hats and is passionate about inclusion. She is an industry-recognized speaker on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and women in workplace-related topics. She has been recognized by numerous industry forums and has been the recipient of the “Iconic woman in leadership” award by the All Women Economic Forum.

Our focus in this episode is Transgender and Family Reconstruction.

The term 'transgender' describes a person’s gender identity that does not necessarily match their assigned sex at birth. This word is also sometimes used as an umbrella term to describe groups of people who transcend conventional expectations of gender identity or expression.

Transgender people may or may not decide to alter their bodies hormonally and/ or surgically to match their gender identity.

Today, we have with us two eminent personalities Nila Ma and Jesulyn Divya with whom we will discuss their experiences and learn from their challenges and aha moments.

With Nila being a transwoman and with Jesulyn inequalities faced by the Trans people. Jesulyn is a student of Alliance Française Madras, a finalist of Eloquentia competition 2019 on "Inequalities in Transgender" speech.

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Podcast Summary: Transgender and Family Reconstruction

Host: Shachi Irde

00:00: Introduction

01:32: Nila’s introduction

02:37: Jesulyn’s introduction. How you got interested in the lives of trans people.

04:10: [To Nila] When did you know you are differently gendered? How did you disclose or come out - to your parents? How did your friends react?

06:41: [To Jesulyn] – People are still very unaware of the challenges Trans people go thru. Can you share some of your findings?

09:32: [To Nila] You mentioned that you ran away from home. Could you share your journey from there to today? What happened? How did you survive?

17:44: [To Jesulyn] What do you wish the public knew about transgender people?

19:16: [To Nila] What is the biggest or most common misconception about trans people?

21:42: [To Jesulyn] Can you share some of the inequalities trans people face that others don’t usually face and how can we help?

25:50: [To Nila] What is your message to our fellow listeners?

27:11: [To Jesulyn] How can we be an ally?

28:56: Conclusion. Outro. Nila's rap song.

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For this episode, we would like to thank:

- Our 2 guests: Nila Ma & Jesulyn Divya E
- The Alliance Française of Madras
- Bruno Plasse, Director of Alliance Française of Madras

-  The French Embassy, the French Institute and the Alliance Française Network in India for producing the show
and, special thanks to Hemant Soreng and his team for their advice and technical support.

Please do subscribe and review the show on various podcasting platforms and on the website afindia.org/podcast. Listen in to the voices that are often invisible but powerful enough to clear the haze.

Disclaimer: The views, experiences and opinions expressed in this podcast are personal views of the participating speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the French Embassy or its cooperation network in India.