Bengaluru: Akkai Padmashali, the face of transgender community and an activist from Bengaluru, has been invited to be part of the Town Hall by former US President Barack Obama in New Delhi on December 1.
She is the only transgender in the country to participate. Padmashali told DC, “It is a proud moment for the entire community. It is a privilege to participate.”
She said, “It made me emotional for we aren’t often involved in high-level gatherings. It will unlocking new opportunities to uplift our LGBT community and that of the world.”
She was invited to the White House in 2015 but she couldn’t meet Mr Obama. “I knew I would meet him some day,” she smiles.
“Given an opportunity, first, I would tell him how much we love and praise him for being a motivation to millions across the world. He has faced racial discrimination and knows what it is about,” she said. “ I would like to talk to him about the prevailing circumstances of the LGBT community in the USA and India and explain the discrimination here. We will seek his suggestions on the development of our community and tackling various forms of discrimination. We would like to educate the society, legislature and judiciary about our plight.”
The Town Hall will bring together hundreds of young Indian leaders from across the country for a conversation about what it means to be an active citizen and how the Obama Foundation, which is organising the event, can support the emerging leaders.
