New Delhi: Indian athlete Santhi Soundarajan, who failed the gender test at Doha had sexual minorities come out in huge numbers in Chennai to support to the beleaguered athlete.
"We express full solidarity with her. This should be an eye-opener to the humanitarian discriminations faced by people with ambiguous gender," Tamil Nadu Aravanies (trans-genders) Association President P Asha Bharati was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.
"Santhi, they say, does not have the full sexual characteristics of a woman. But she has done for this country what millions of normal men and women could not achieve," Bharati added.
She also said that Santhi had proved that sexual minorities were not inferior to others but is still being punished for no fault of hers.
"If at all sexual minorities want to participate in such events, is there a category for them? This is just one face of the social exclusiveness that we face throughout our life", Bharati said.
Sunil Menon of 'Sahodaran', a gay rights group in Chennai, also demanded that rules of such events be changed to accommodate those with ambiguous gender.
Santhi had earlier been denied a Railway Board job because of similar reasons. She comes from a very poor family and her parents are labourers in a brick kiln.
“Is it fair to deny her a job just because she does not have the complete characteristics of a woman,” Bharti said.
The sexual minorities face a lot of human rights violations, she said, adding they did not get ration cards, voting rights or passports.
Sunil Menon informed that sexual minorities are denied jobs both in the government as well as private sector.
Even the Indian Penal Code's section 377 on 'unnatural sex' denies them their basic right.
He, however, lauded Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi who went ahead with rewarding Santhi with Rs 15 lakh despite the controversy.
"This is a recognition of the capabilities of the athlete who has achieved great heights despite all odds," PTI quoted Menon as saying.
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