New Delhi: The winner of the first beauty pageant for transgender in the country, Nitasha Biswas from childhood knew that she was different from others. Whenever in school or at home, Nitasha was asked to do things boys were made to do, she had no interest. In school, whenever she was asked to play football, she used to lock herself in the bathroom. Besides, bullying added to her adversities.

Nitasha was born as a boy named Suvanko and hailed from the Kolkata family. She lost her mother at the age of 6 years. “It was difficult to discuss and even make my brother or my father understand what I was going through,” Nitasha said.

When she first spoke about her feelings to her brother, he neglected them. When she opened herself to her father, he responded, “No, this is wrong.” She said, “He couldn’t accept it.”

Following a challenging childhood, Nitasha finally changed her “identity” when she came to Delhi. However, her transformation phase was complex. Nitasha termed the process as difficult as “It’s not an overnight process.”

She stated that it was difficult to cope with the people around her. “For them to accept you as someone now and someone else earlier is hard,” Nitasha added.

She also faced discrimination in the office. She recalled going to a party with a group of friends, who did not have any idea who she was earlier. However, they ended up her treating differently when they came to know that she is a transwoman.

Nitasha went home for the first time after her transformation when her father was ill.

That was the first time she met her family after her treatment. To her surprise, she received the best compliment ever. When her aunt asked her to remove her mask so she could see her face, Nitasha revealed that everyone thought she was the reflection of her mother.

To bring real change in society, Nitasha said that discrimination can only end when it starts with a school education. She stated, “People have myths about transgenders.”

“The biggest change should start at school. The anatomy of male and female bodies are studied but not of a transgender. We need to eradicate this discrimination in society so that this topic can be a part of our school syllabus,” she said.

In 2017, Nitasha won the Miss Trans Queen India beauty pageant and sees herself becoming a politician someday. “Although I get lots of offers from OTT platforms, I want to create change by becoming a politician and a policy maker so I can address the issue of discrimination in the country,” Nitasha said.

Currently, she is an actor, model, and an activist.