Monique Relova

In 2006 Monique  Relova spent time with a transgender community near Bangalore in southern India. In many western countries the discussion of transgender rights is very topical – the last frontier in the battle for equal rights.  In South Asia, particularly Pakistan, India and Bangladesh transgender people are officially recognised as third gender. In fact, transgender people have a recorded history on the Indian subcontinent going back to antiquity. After overcoming initial hurdles of acceptance as an outsider Monique Relova was accepted by the community and gained their trust. This allowed her to photograph them in their daily life.  Monique’s portraits convey an overriding sense of pride maintained despite the many challenges and struggles Sridevi and Friends face on a daily basis.