While members of the sexual minority population are still marginalised in society, Deepa Buddhe HG has demonstrated that they are not inferior to others.
Deepa is the first transgender person in Karnataka to obtain a PhD
At the University of Mysore, she is on her first year of research. For the past year, she has been conducting research on her own community under the supervision of Dr B R Ambedkar Research and Extension Centre professor J Somashekar on the theme ‘Mysuru-Chamarajanagar Districts Transgender Communities: A critical study on the lives and struggles.
She was born as a’male’ kid to her parents, father Gurusiddaiah, a dailwage worker, and mother Mahadevamma, and discovered her true identity in Class 7.
“My parents used to adore me and take excellent care of me. However, after learning that I am transgender, they began to reject me. When I was at PU, I made the decision to leave my family and join my community “she stated She has not seen her parents or visited her house in over 12 years because the doors were closed to her.
Her journey of struggle is inspiring
Deepa, who completed her primary education in her native village of Heggavadipura and high school in Santhamarahalli in Chamarajanagar taluk, continued her pre-university education at Government PU
College in Santhamarahalli while working part-time at Samatha Society, a transgender welfare organisation. She rose through the ranks of the society, becoming project manager and then president in 2018.
She also rose to the position of treasurer for the Karnataka State Sexual Minority Forum.
“I enrolled in a degree college in Kuderu, but had to drop out in 2015 due to social humiliation and challenges as a result of my identification with the transgender community.
However, I completed my courses later “she statedIn 2018, she enrolled in the University of Mysore’s MA in Ambedkar Studies programme, where she received an 82 percent in the final exams. She campaigned for the transgender section in the admissions application and was successful.
“In my department, I received the highest marks. So I chose to pursue a PhD, passed the admission exam, and have been conducting research since April of last year.
