30-year-old transgender activist Grace Banu has been conferred the first ever ‘Best Third Gender’ award by the Tamil Nadu government for her services rendered towards the welfare of the society. Through her efforts, members of transgender community were able to get seats in Siddha Medical College, nursing colleges, etc. Speaking on the award, Banu said, “I was extremely happy when I came to know I was chosen for the honour. Commenting on the controversy surrounding the award, Banu said, “the previous AIADMK government changed the name transgender to third gender in all official documents. So I am confident that the government will also change the award to ‘Best Transgender’ instead of ‘Best Third Gender’ soon,” she added.

Source: Indian Express August 16, 2021 15:43 UTC