SRINAGAR -- In the 12 years since the creation of International Transgender Day of Visibility, transgender men and women have become more integrated and accepted across the world. Yet, in India-controlled Kashmir, the community exists in a world apart.
Despite their notable presence as brightly dressed beggars along the nation's roads, bus stops, and railway interchanges, India's transgender people have always struggled to win acceptance in a country fraught with sociocultural and political frailties. Today, across India, the transgender community remains untraceable.