Trans woman seeks President's nod to kill self after denial of job by Air India

Shanavi asked that if she does not get discount on taxes because of her gender, why should she be refused a job.

A transgender woman has written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking permission to kill herself. The transgender woman, Shanavi Ponnusamy, has alleged that state-owned carrier Air India refused her a job because of her gender.

Speaking to news agency ANI, she said, “They said we do not have category for trans-women. I have qualification and experience, is it about my gender?”

She further asked that if she does not get discount on taxes because of her gender, why should she be refused a job because of the same reason. “Now if I live or die, it is in hands of President,” she said.

After the refusal of job by Air India, Shanavi did not make any attempt to work with any other airline. “I did not try for another airline because if government airline says there is no category for you, what can we expect from private airlines,” said Shanavi.

According to The News Minute, Shanavi is the first person in her family to get a graduation degree and is a qualified engineer. She has also worked as a model, an actor, and has even worked in the customer support department of an airline.

She had applied for a cabin crew post with Air India, for the first time in 2016. Though she qualified on all eligibility criteria under the ‘female’ category, she was rejected by the airline on four occasions. No reason was given by Air India for refusal of her candidature, but recently she got to know that it was her gender that became a roadblock in her getting the job.

Shanavi hails from Tiruchendur in Thoothukkudi district of Tamil Nadu. Despite being from a poor family, she became a qualified Electronics and Communication engineer in 2010, but got her first job in 2013 with a company that handled customer support for Air India.

She told The News Minute that a senior officer in the Ministry of Civil Aviation even tried to help her in the past with the job in Air India, but there was no fruitful result.

Shanavi went on to move the Supreme Court in 2017, alleging discrimination on basis of gender. The case is still pending in the top court.