Transwoman becomes village assistant in T.N.’s Thoothukudi district

For the first time, a 26-year-old transwoman has become ‘Village Assistant’ following the recently held recruitment drive in the district.

Hailing from a poor family from Ettayapuram in the district, S. Shruthi completed her diploma in hotel management from an institute on Chennai outskirts. Since she could not find a right job in a hotel or restaurant, she also completed tailoring to work with a tailoring unit here.

“Since my father is a casual labourer and my brother is a two-wheeler mechanic, I too had to earn to meet the daily expenses of our family. So I chose tailoring with which I can earn something till today,” Ms. Shruthi says.

When she came to know about recruitment of village assistants to be posted in the district, Ms. Shruthi applied for the same even as her friends told her that hefty bribe alone could fetch her job.

““But I firmly believed that the district officials led by the Collector would complete the recruitment in a fair manner. I went through the recruitment process without anyone’s help and it was completed by the District Collector impartially as the successful candidates I met here, all from poor family background, have got the appointment purely on merit. This kind of selection will instill confidence in the minds of the candidates waiting for government jobs,” said Ms. Shruthi.

While handing over the appointment order on Friday to successful candidates, District Collector K. Senthil Raj urged Ms. Shruthi to be upright and a dedicated government servant throughout her career.

“It’s a great recognition for transgenders. I’ll be a role model for the people from our community so that more will also prepare well and crack the competitive exams to get government jobs,” Ms. Shruthi said.