"I did not want to choose either my family or my identity-I wanted both" : Meet Joyita Mondal Mahi, India's first transgender judge

Joyita is a powerhouse of enthusiasm and inspiration

In journalism, writing about any person of importance first requires finding their contact. For this purpose, we have a stringers - people who find their contacts for you. And today has been one of the best experiences of my job. I called up the stringer at Dinajpur to ask for the number of Joyita Mondal Mahi, the first transgender judge to be appointed in India.

When I asked if he had Joyita's numer, the stringer said, 'Of course I have the number. It's a privilege for us that Joyita has been appointed judge."(sic). It tells you that things are changing,in Dinajpur at least.

Manabi Bandopadhyaya is the first transgender to be appointed as the principal of a college

In 2014, the Supreme Court recognized transgender as the third gender. Of course there have been incidents of violent attacks against transgenders, but there have been appointments and schemes. Many of them have failed too. Take the example of Manabi Bandopadhayay. She was appointed as the first transgender college principal had to quit amidst discrimination and lack of cooperation from her colleagues.

But Joyita has been lucky so far. Here are a few unknown facets of her life :

Reactions to her identity on her job

It has been a tough fight for Joyita

In a telephone conversation, Joyita spoke of how there are reactions to her presiding over a case, but they are mostly of surprise. She has not been insulted or discriminated so far. Yes, there is a shift in one's body language and there are negative vibes too, but there has been no untoward incident.

On July 8, the 29-year-old attended office for the first time as a Lok Adalat judge in Islampur of North Dinajpur district in north Bengal. A Lok Adalat usually comprises of three-member judicial panel which includes a senior judge, a lawyer, and a social worker. Mondal, as a social worker, takes up one of the positions as judge.

Joyita's Childhood and journey to Dinajpur

Joyita has a voice brimming with enthusiasm, not dimmed by the challenges she had to face. Born Jayanta, Joyita always felt like a girl from inside. She played games which were typical of girls. Her parents would then urge her to play more 'manly' games like football. Her response to bullying or ridicule of her classmates was not anger, but laughter and she would retort in a similar light vein.

She recalls the time between 2010 and 2011 as a particularly tough year of her life. She was not given rooms in hotels or rented flats and often didn't have money to pay rent. She had to beg, perform and tolerate taunts, all at the same time. But she never lost hope. She eventually completed her studies from open schooling and opened her agency Dinajpur Notun Alo Society

To be or not to be- That is the question

Joyita's Notun Alo Society in Dinajpur

It is said that the most difficult choice is the one between two things of equal value. It was the same for Joyita- that's why she decided to choose both instead. Joyita never felt that she should compromise on who she was- she knew things would change. Changing herself because others were not comfortable with her did not make sense to her. And she wanted her family acceptance and love as well as her identity. And happily enough, she has both now.

"When I reach home after working hard, I need to talk to my mother."

Joyita's family, like most of us, is her biggest pillar of strength. She says, "I used to go home after every two months earlier, but now I have less time due to my work. My communication with family with never broke down. It was hard. I have two elder sisters. Both my sisters have and are still my closest friends. I share with them what I cannot tell my parents. "(sic)

Joyita is working slowly and steadily to get acceptance for not just herself but others like her. Her agency also built a new old age home in June, 2016. Her work has been difficult, but rewarding. Even while people were uncomfortable with her identity, she chose to wear it with pride.

Joyita loves her biryani

When asked about her favorite food, Joyita responded without a pause- 'biryani', and like a true Bengali, she loves rosogolla too. She loves travelling and hanging out with friends. Digha is a favorite destination of hers, even though she hasn't been able to visit it in the last five years. Darjeeling is the other place she loves taking off to when free.

Joyita can't sit still inside a movie hall

Joyita is close to her family

"I can't sit still inside a movie hall, I keep asking about the movie and my friends end up not getting to watch the movie properly."  She confesses that she has little attention span when it comes to movies or TV shows. She would rather spend time being with friends.

Isn't she amazing?