DH Changemakers | Umi

For many in India, coming out as trans is fraught with anxiety. For Umi, the isolation was made more stark growing up in Ramanagara, a rural town on the outskirts of Bengaluru. For years, she believed that her identity was an aberration until a chance encounter with another transperson in Bengaluru turned her life around.
Umi moved beyond thoughts of suicide to founding her own NGO, Jeeva an organisation that works for transgender rights in policy and politics.
The driving force behind her work? Her community, and the hope and belief that the path to acceptance for the younger generations will be easier.