Trendsetters! Balco Opens Doors For Transgender Community, Hires 4 Members In Chhattisgarh

The four members of the transgender community— Asha Vishwakarma, Bhawani Rathia, Kanishka Sona and Roopa Kurre — will work as forklift operators with the PSU’s contractual company MS Gears India Limited

Writer: Tashafi Nazir

For the first time, Balco (Bharat Aluminum Company) has inducted four members from the transgender community into its workforce. The four — Asha Vishwakarma, Bhawani Rathia, Kanishka Sona and Roopa Kurre — will work as forklift operators with the PSU’s contractual company MS Gears India Limited.

 Bhawani Rathia, a transwoman, left her parent’s house in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district last year after transitioning against their wishes and knowledge and did not know if she would find gainful employment. She lived at Garima Grih, a shelter house for trans-people, learnt various courses the home provided, from cooking to spoken English and applied for jobs at different places.

0:05 / 0:30 According to Vidya Rajput, member of the state third gender welfare board and director of Chhattisgarh Mitwa Sankalp Samiti, it is their second batch of women who have got employment, The Indian Express reported. “In 2021, 13 transgender people were inducted into Chhattisgarh police. We were genuinely happy when we recently got a call from Balco evincing interest.

Four of the members have received their passes with immense respect and felicitation,” she said. Ushering New Social Change Congratulating the newly appointed employees, Balco CEO Abhijit Pati said that the transgender community has ushered a new social change and dismissed myths within the company. “Any industry runs on skill and skills are not dependent on gender.

They are cultivated by hard work and we at Balco are ready to include the till-now ignored third gender into our task force,” he said. For Rathia, the job at Balco is just a beginning but a good one. “The company treated us nicely and gave a lot of respect, for which we have enormous gratitude. I am glad to be a part of Balco,” she said.

Courtesy : TLI

Note: This news piece was originally published in thelogicalindian.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights objectives.