Transgender women open their first boutique in Chennai’s Saidapet

CHENNAI: Chennai has welcomed its first clothing store run by transgender women, ‘Born2Win Trans Boutique’ —an initiative designed to provide employment opportunities and financial independence to members of the transgender community.

The boutique, located in Saidapet, was made possible by the efforts of Born2Win, a social welfare trust dedicated to uplifting transgender people through skill development programmes. Working since 2013, the trust aims to support the transgender community by offering training in tailoring, driving, and education sponsorship, among other initiatives.

With support from Altimetrik, a company that funded this initiative, five transgender women have been given employment and a chance to start their own businesses. The boutique offers customized clothing for women, tailored to their needs and preferences.

Swetha, the founder, director and CEO of Born2Win, spoke about the initiative and explained how it will help the community achieve their “dreams in their respective fields”.

“We created this initiative for the welfare of the transgender community. For the past six months, we have been training people in our tailoring classes. This initiative will help our community achieve their dreams in their chosen fields and will give transgender people the confidence they need”, Swetha said.

Oviya, a transgender tailor at the boutique, shared her thoughts on the opportunity and mentioned how, in the past, people thought transgender individuals could only “beg or do sex work.” She, however, emphasised that things are changing now, and people in their communities are focusing on building their “education and career.”

“I have 9 years of experience in the field of tailoring before transgenders used to be called they do sex and begging now even lot of transwomen are educated and coming up in their life. Hereafter, we won’t call on these names even if we have dreams. We are working on our goals to succeed in our lives. We customize dresses for all women as per their needs. I believe a lot of customers will come to our boutique”, Oviya said.

The main goal of Born2Win is to improve the socio-economic conditions of transgender individuals in India. Their mission is built on the 5Es: Equality, Education, Employment, Empowerment, and Environment. Through this boutique, they hope to change society’s perception of transgender individuals and prove that, with the right support, they can thrive in any profession. (ANI)