SANDESH is the first photography festival ever to shed light on Transgender Life from around the world. It aims to open minds about the transgender community within the Indian society as well as the global society at large.
Discussion of the trans experience and transgender rights is entering mainstream discourse more than ever in India. Despite the surge in media attention and growing acceptance of transgender identities, systemic and social-cultural barriers remain firm along with the lack of sensitivity around this issue.
The passage of the Transgender Rights Bill of 2016 in India helped to start the conversation about transgender acceptance in India, but social and legal acceptance is still bleak at best. The de-criminalization of homosexuality in India and passage of laws such as the Transgender Rights Bill of 2016 have given the LGBT community new rights, but the community still struggles for acceptance.
SANDESH will offer glimpses of transgender life from all corners of the world in an attempt to generate respect for the transgender community. Transgender people around the world face great challenges and oppression in their daily lives, and this event is going to be a poignant display of the day-to-day realities of life as a transgender.
This 5-day long photography festival that took place in Dehradun and was held in Chandigarh from 13th – 15th July, 2018, showcasing the daily lives of transgender people through stunning photography and book exhibitions from more than 30 countries, displayed in an intimate setting.
SANDESH is an honest endeavor to celebrate the beauty and diversity of the transgender community.
