India’s transsexual woman Naaz Joshi put India’s flag on top by winning the beauty pageant Miss World Diversity. Competing against 14 other international contestants in Mauritius, she has made the country proud with a third successive victory as Naaz was crowned Miss World Diversity 2019.
“Winning crown gives me the power and responsibility towards society. With such a huge responsibility, I aim to work towards bringing transgender into the mainstream. I want that everyone should accept us as we are without any discrimination,” said Naaz who won the title consecutively in 2017 and 2018
As a seven-year old, unable to tackle the stigma of her being a transgender, her parents sent her away from Delhi.
“We face a lot of discrimination from society, including our families. It is not that my parents didn’t love me but they were under a lot of pressure from neighbours and society at large. This is the reason I was sent to my relatives when I was around seven,” says a jubilant Naaz
For Naaz, educating herself was the most important thing that could liberate her and take her close to her dreams. She took admission in NIFT and became a topper there. After that, she pursued an MBA in marketing from IMT through correspondence, because she was not given a regular admission.
She is the first transsexual woman who has appeared on the cover page of an international magazine. A biopic on her struggles was made by the ace photographer Rishi Taneja. This gave her an entry into the film industry.
Naaz Joshi in the final round portrayed herself as a Indian Goddess representing ‘Shakti’ symbolising feminine source of power and empowerment by wearing a traditional blue Indian wear.
