Home Public Interest Kamakhya Temple: Transgender Persons Allege Discrimination

Kamakhya Temple: Transgender Persons Allege Discrimination

Kamakhya Temple: Transgender persons allege police harassment and denial of right to worship, stating they face discrimination and call for equal access.

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Kamakhya Temple Transgender Persons Allege Discrimination

Kamakhya Temple: Transgender Persons Allege Discrimination | Kamakhya Temple (backdrop), Sonia (Right) | Photo courtesy: Special arrangement

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Kamakhya Temple: Discrimination Allegations

In a troubling reflection of societal biases, Sonia, a transgender woman from Guwahati, speaks out against the discrimination allegedly faced by her community when attempting to access the revered Kamakhya Temple in Assam. “We are tortured by the local police here and are not allowed to enter the temple most of the time. Even during the Navratri festivities, when everyone else could pray, some of us were turned away,” she laments.

Sonia’s grievances echo a broader narrative of exclusion that continues to permeate many aspects of life for transgender persons in India. The Kamakhya Temple, an important pilgrimage site dedicated to Goddess Kamakhya, symbolises not just spiritual reverence but also the need for social acceptance. While it serves as a hub for worship within the Shakti Peetha tradition, the members of the transgender community allege that the temple’s doors remain closed to those who seek solace in its sacred precincts simply because of their identity.

According to Sonia, police harassment is a constant reality for her and her friends. "We are also sanatani, and we are also the devotees of the goddess. The police don’t allow us to enter the temple most of the time. We don’t go to temples to rob or commit crimes; we just want to pray like everyone else," she asserts.

In a striking moment captured on video, Sonia and her friend, both transgender women, attempt to enter the Kamakhya Temple, a journey fraught with challenges. The four-minute and seventeen-second clip shared with The Probe exposes their plight: as they approach the temple, a police officer initially raises his hand but quickly retracts his motion upon noticing the camera. “This time, we only got to pray because the police saw that we were recording a video using our mobile camera,” Sonia explains.

The video features Sonia’s friend stating plainly, “Police personnel trouble us a lot. They don’t allow us to enter the temple.” These allegations, if true, speak volumes about the constant barriers faced by transgender individuals in public places. Sonia’s question lingers in the air: “Should we always put cameras on record so that the system gets scared of exposure and allows us in?” 

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