India’s first transgender TV news anchor

MUMBAI: Five months after the Supreme Court ruled that transgender people will be recognised as a legal third gender, a television news station has recruited the country’s first transgender news anchor.

Working at Lotus News in Tamil Nadu, Padmini Prakash, first anchored on this Independence Day. Before joining the channel Prakash worked as a dancer as well as acted in Tamil soap operas.

Prakash told the Times of India that she had faced a lot of discrimination throughout her life, including being disowned by her family.

According to media reports, a month after she started, Padmini has become the face of the Coimbatore-based Lotus News Channel’s daily 7pm special bulletin.

The apex court said the transgender would be allowed admission to educational institutions and given employment on the basis that they belonged to the third gender category. They would be considered as OBCs, the judgment said.