Amitabh Bachchan shares heart-wrenching video showing plight of transgenders amid COVID-19

Amitabh Bachchan on Monday took to his social media handle to share 'Badhai Ho' director Amit Sharma's short film on transgenders. Urging people to contribute for them, the initiative is led by the NGO Phool Versha foundation.

The video begins with the narrator saying, "I beg you, To consider us as humans. Weeks have passed but no one hears the sobs....." It further says, "No one came forward to show their humanity towards us. You shed tears for laborers, for doctors... Was I so ill-fated, for whom no one wondered? I also feel hungry, Death scares us... And I continue to beg you. TO consider us humans too."

The video ends with a message, "There are no official statistics of millions of transgenders in India. As a result, they aren't getting enough food supplies and aid during the pandemic."

Presidency students distribute food items among transgender people hit by lockdown

Helping the less priviledged, Phool Versha Foundation and Nam Myoho Daan have collaborated with Amit Sharma, Kanika Dhillon, Ness Wadia, and Garima Arora to support the LGBT community. They are also helping migrant labourers on a daily basis. In a country of 1.3 billion, the LGBT community constitutes approximately 2 million.  

COVID-19: Govt must integrate transgender concerns in all policy and strategy, say NGOs

The government must integrate concerns of the transgender community in all their policy and strategy for disaster mitigation in view of the coronavirus outbreak, NGOs said in April.

NGO distributes food to transgender community in Delhi during COVID-19 lockdown

They also said the matter is particularly urgent as the community members are perceived to be at high risk of contracting the HIV and that many are possibly into substance use which is very harmful in the current situation. In an appeal to the government, the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR), a non-profit organization, and its partner Sakha said transgenders must be included as a group in all policies and actions devised for disaster mitigation during the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

CFAR works for the rights of a cross section of marginalised communities such as the urban poor, girls, unorganised workers, transgenders and sexual minorities, single women, HIV-positive people and sex workers.

(with PTI inputs)