KOCHI:
In a stellar example to empower transwomen or male-to-female transsexual, Industrial Training Department and Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence (KASE) has provided a platform to one such woman who is displaying her entrepreneurial skill at the ongoing India Skills Kerala (ISK) 2018 by putting up a handicraft stall that is attracting people in droves.
Thripthi Shetty, a successful transgender entrepreneur, model and actor all rolled into one, has been allotted a stall at the ISK, the skill fest in the state jointly organised by the Industrial Training Department and Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence (KASE). She is the first transwoman to get employment in the state, the first person to get The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) loan and also the first to get the identity of an artisan under her category from the Ministry of Textiles and Handicrafts.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had inaugurated the three-day ISK 2018, the largest skill fest ever held in the state, at Marine Drive here on Saturday. Thripthi, who symbolises the story of transformation and empowerment in the face of formidable obstacles, makes beautiful jewellery in stones and black metal. She has participated in a number of exhibitions and there is a long queue to buy her attractive jewellery. She also creates stunning showpieces reusing liquor bottles.
“It makes me and my community feel honoured that the Industrial Training Department and KASE have provided me this space to showcase my skill,” says Thripthi, with a feeling of elation and pride.
“Being a transwoman, I would say that there should be more openings for transgenders in areas of technology and business. There must be an equal space for us in all sectors of the society. Opportunities should be irrespective of the gender of the person,” she says, matter-of-factly. Thripthi has done a movie and is looking forward to acting in more movies. She was selected in the final fifteen in a beauty pageant, Queen of Dhwayah, 2017, held for the transgenders in Kerala.
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