First transgender woman becomes vice-chairman

Sadia Akter Pinky, a transgender woman, has been elected vice-chairman of the Kotchandpur Upazila Parishad in Jhenidah.

She ran for the female vice-chairman’s post as a woman and secured 12,880 votes after the election was held on Monday. Her nearest rival, Rubina Khatun, bagged 12,139 votes. 

Pinky, who also works as a convenor of Kotchandpur Upazila’s Jubo Mohila League wing, said that she had not introduced her as a ‘hijra’ or transgender before the election.

Pinky, a resident of the Upazila’s Suyadi village, had studied up to the 10th class. She once got married to a man, but their marriage did not work out due to her gender identity. 

She used to run a cloth store at Kotchandpur and later began to concentrate on politics and social-welfare based activities. She has been working as a leader of Jubo Mohila League for the past three years.

Bangladesh had officially recognised transgenders as a separate gender or the third sex in 2013. Following the decision, Election Commission initiated a separate column on the voter registration form to identify them as ‘hijra’.

Jhenidah/Rajib Hassan/AKA