2SERIES:
DAUGHTERS OF GOD
REFUGEES CAMP IN THE PARIS AREA
DAUGHTERS OF GOD: THE DAILY LIFE OF TRANSGENDER COMMUNITIES IN SOUTH INDIA
As a French photojournalist of Indian origin, since I was a child, I have been fascinated by their beauty and courage to thwart the expectations of one of the most patriarchal and conservative societies. So I decided to discover their daily life.
Savitha, Sangeena, Sathana, Geetha, Marthula, Rossi, Seethal, Srija, and Pappima are part of transgender communities in Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu: the Thirunangais, those means in Tamil the "daughters of God." In southern India, this is what they are called, in reference to the Goddess of fertility and chastity, Bahuchara Mata, of whom these people, neither men nor women, would be the descendants, according to the Hindu religion.
"India has recognized the existence of the third sex since 2014 and decriminalized homosexuality four years later.
But the daily life of many "Thirunanguais" who offer sexual services in the streets of Pondicherry testifies to a completely different reality. They are rejected by their own families, mutilated, beaten, raped, and excluded from the labor market. Yet, they survive thanks to begging, prostitution, and the bonds of solidarity that unite their community, both feared and venerated, since the Hindu religion lends its powers of blessing, healing, and fertility while rejecting those who dare to assert themselves outside of patriarchal society.
These women agreed to let me photograph their daily lives for six months, between rites of passage, prostitution, begging, and hope for a better life."
Jennifer Carlos
