Acid attack Trans woman still struggling for bread and butter. Story of Karima Khan

Hello Visitor, first of all thank you for your so good response to my articles related to LGBT+ community, especially for trans personals, time to time I try to do my level best to bring you the hidden stories and issues of community.

Today I am writing about one Trans woman from India’s costal area Vizag (then Vishakhapatnam) she is unknown to many, but in fact she is a woman of courage and self-determination, and above she is ACID ATTACK victim.

CHILDHOOD and SCHOOLING

Karima Khan born as male, then known as Karim Khan on 01st January 1984, she was one of the 6 brothers and 3 sisters in her family. She belongs to middle class family. Since her childhood her mother’s health was not up to the mark, around her standard 5th she used to miss the school on regular intervals, when her brother / sisters used to go school and father goes to work, she love to wear a big saree of her mother on her little body and keep doing household work, as her mother was not well to do the house work. Talking to nirvair.in Karima stated heavy heartedly that regularly she was bulled by her classmates, she was physical harassed many times and she got the nic-names like Chakka, Hijra etc. One incident she recalls of her 7th standard that after school was over, one of her classmate stops her forcibly outside her home and kisses her, after this incident she went in a shocking position for many days and keep crying in alone.

Karima also stated that she was gang raped by 12 boys when she was in standard 10th. After rape incident her parents come to know about her gender identity and she was forced to live like a male, her parents openly shouts on her and keep saying that she is a characterless.

With tears in her eyes Karima said at that point of time she misses someone to tell her story as there was no NGO that time where she can ask for the help.

COLLEGE and EARNINGS

After couple of months of her life in a Home Prison, she got permission for a job near to her home at ice-cream parlour, she starts working there and saves little money, and with her savings somehow she manages to finishes her 12th standard. Till she completes her 12th her life becomes miserable, verbal and silent discrimination becomes a part of her regular life, it was the time when she thinks to commit suicide.

COMING UNDER HIJRA WINGS

After passing her 12th standard she left her home in depression, and manages to join Hijra Community in Mumbai (then Bombay), she felt good and happy with her life and for bread and butter she starts begging, after some time she start feeling uncomfortable with begging, later she joins as bar dancer. She continues as a bar dancer and after sometimes she started her HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy), life was pretty good and smooth for her, suddenly one day her life again takes U-Turn, as some rowdies of Mumbai wants sex with her, but when she refuses they kept gun on her head to shoot her. She got scared and somehow manages to run from there.

Finally she landed up in Nagpur in year 1995, but always remains confused for her tomorrow, in Nagpur she reaches in one Dargha, where she requested Maulana Sahib for shelter in Dargha, she got a small room in Durgha but on very first night the Maulana wants to have un-invited favours from her, she simply refuses and left the Dargha on same night and went to Nagpur railway station without having a single rupee in her pocket, she reached station and sit at some corner and keep crying, no one asked about her problem, not even police. Suddenly one Trans woman (named; Bijli) asked about her problem, and offers her help, she agrees and joins her way to Durg (Chhattisgarh).

She starts begging in Train over there.

LATER

While in Durg, she always feels alone, suddenly once she met a guy named Javed, they both fell in love. Both decided to proceed further and decided to marry, at that point of time Karima decided to go for SRS (Sex Reassignment Surgery), after SRS she joins Durg’s first TI MSM project NGO Vikas Evam Anusadhan Sanstha as an ORW (Out Reach Worker).

GLAMOROUS LIFE

Karima got the life days what she was waiting for and struggled for, in year 2010 she got the crown of Miss Chhattisgarh beauty pageant, she was first Trans woman in India to win beauty pageant on state level, her glamorous life continues and was selected for Miss India beauty competition in same year and ended up in last 5, which was a great achievement, as she stated.

AGAIN DOWNFALL OF LIFE

After beauty pageant she was living with Javed very happily, but all her happiness turns down to bitterness of life, the relationship status with Javed starts coming to downfall with lots of mis-understanding. The day comes when she left her relationship and start focusing on her future. Javed cannot accept this all, he want her to stop glamour life, but she did not agree and continue her life but she always misses Javed and asked him many times for re-union. The life was separated with him, one horrible day comes when Javed called her for meeting, she agrees to meet, she was happy as she was thinking of re-union with him, but ill-fated Karima wasn’t knows that meeting with Javed will makes her life down forever. When they both met, without talking to Karima, Javed straight away throws a acid on her face, the quantity of acid was too high as she gripped with acid from neck to stomach and left leg.

AFTER ACID ATTACK

After acid attack, Karima was not able to retain her consciousness for 15 days, after 15 days of hospitalisation she open her eyes for first time after acid attack, that time she was not able to understand what is going around her, but when she saw herself in mirror, she start screaming like anything. Javed comes to see her in hospital, again they both had argue. Javed remains in hospital for full day, but again Karima doesn’t know that he (Javed) is with her in negative sense. Javed pretend to be her companion in hospital, and late evening while taking her to restroom intentionally he pushes Karima multiple time till she fell on floor, in this incident Karima got neck femur, that point doctors refuse to operate her for neck femur due to het acid injuries. After 4 months she was able to recover a little, and then operate for neck femur, but operation was not successful. Life was in Dark, she remained bed ridden till year 2014, and there was no financial help or happy human help for her.

In those days in her city a new HIV helpline was started Saaahey Helpline which was supported by Government of Canada, she become India’s first Transgender tele-caller, but that job was on contract basis for 11 month, after 11 months of job again she start facing financial crisis, she got cold shoulders for her job due to her gender and physical damages.

She determines herself to do something in life. She tries to do parlour course but all in vain, as she was rejected due to gender and health issues. But somehow she completed parlour course, and opens her small parlour at home.

In her life even today she feels in-complete due to her injured leg, as she hardly manage to walk and sit.

Few Pics of Karima Khan