Gauri Sawant
About
Gauri Sawant, the courageous, warm-hearted and strong-willed transgender activist is a leading crusader for the rights of the LGBTQ community in India.
She was born as Ganesh Suresh Sawant in a conservative family in Pune. At a very early age of 9, after her mother's demise, Gauri realized that she is different from others. As a child, she has always been effeminate and more inclined towards the female gender.
Gauri Sawant became the talk of the country when she adopted the daughter of a sex worker who succumbed to AIDS. Gauri was the first transgender to have made her way into motherhood, breaking the orthodox traditions and stereotypes prevalent in the country.
Gauri Sawant is a fighter and a proud transgender. She and her adopted daughter got featured in the Vicks advertisement that went viral.
Gauri has clearly established that motherhood has no gender. During her initial days in Mumbai, her talent of having exemplary communication skills landed her a job in Humsafar Trust.
A true transgender champion, she now runs an NGO – 'Sakhi Char Chowghi' with a team of 150 workers and aims to promote safe sex and provide counselling to transgenders from the Mumbai suburbs. She was part of the crusade that made sure the third gender gets Aadhaar cards, as dictated by the NALSA bench.
She is also the petitioner of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) judgement that was passed in 2013. Three years after the Supreme Court recognised transgenders as a third gender, her community is still striving for basic civic rights.
Awards and Accomplishments
Awards and Accomplishments
She was made the ‘Goodwill Ambassador of Election Commission in Maharashtra’.
Gauri’s inspiring story came to the forefront when Vicks portrayed her journey with Gayatri in an ad which has since its release been watched more than 9 million times.
She became the first transgender person to file a petition in the Supreme Court of India for adoption rights of transgender people.
Why Gauri Sawant ?
She talks about her journey from being mocked to inspiring people to achieve their dreams. She motivates and advises people facing an identity crisis to embrace themselves and their true identities. Her passion and determination in building her career in the competitive world is a motivation for many. Gauri has built a multi-faceted brand around her as a first transgender mother, entrepreneur, actor and inspirational speaker.
