Photos Saman Abesiriwardane
By Bhavna Mohan
It’s strange how you may meet someone on the street and pass judgement on them, only to have those assumptions shatter once you get even a slight glimpse into their lives.
The famous saying by Plato: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle,” rings truer the more people I interview from the LGBT community in Sri Lanka.
Today, we focus on Olhu Natasha, who isn’t great at expressing herself, or perhaps her continuous expressions and relations of her experiences have made her numb to display any emotion while she speaks, but whose commitment and prioritisation of family has me in awe.
Clad in a lacy little black dress, her eyes darted from side to side as she quickly sized up her surroundings; brick walled corridor that led to a secluded room painted in white, where we settled for our discussion.
Her lazy gaze, smooth movements, and complete surrender to allow me to set the pace for the interview led me to believe she may be one of the fortunate ones – but I was wrong.
Realisation at a tender age
Her story, like many others’, started at a tender age of nine, when she knew she was not like the rest of the kids. Born and raised in Ragama, Olhu was exposed to the typical life of a Sri Lankan child – until then.
Her father abandoned their family and moved to the city. Her mother was then left to fend for the family; including Olhu and her four-year old younger brother. In seeking employment that allowed her to earn enough to support her two children, she flew to the Middle East, to work as a housemaid.
Olhu and her brother were then sent to their aunt’s.
At the time, Olhu’s aunt had a son who approached her for sex; he was 17 years old. “We went on that way for quite a while,” she said, also stating that it was at the age of 15 that she was really able to pinpoint who she was – a transsexual.
Her cousin then got married, after which Olhu refused to continue with their arrangement, much to his exasperation. “I told him that I couldn’t because he was now married,” she said.
Infuriated at her refusal to continue to provide him sexual favours, he spread rumours about Olhu’s sexual orientation, revealing their little secret to his group of friends, who then started harassing her.
“They used to pull me by the arm and force me to be with them, they used to call me names like ‘Ponnaya’ (an offensive colloquial term used to insult homosexual men),” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I got sick of it, and since I realised that I didn’t really have a choice in the matter, I then consensually bed one of those boys, in order to get back at my cousin.”
Treated differently
Olhu sat for her O/Ls, which is the extent of her education at present. Her brother, however, pursued a computer course after his O/Ls and managed to study graphic animation as well, stemming from her continuous encouragement.
“Growing up, I was never treated the same way as other children, I never got the normal things other children got, and I know that is because of the way I was.”
Olhu is extremely family oriented, to the extent to which she sacrifices her own happiness for what she perceives to be her brother’s peace of mind.
I gathered this as I questioned Olhu on her transformative process, and progress on the same front, to which she said: “No I have not started on any of that yet, I haven’t changed my documents as yet to state my gender either,” and on asking her why, she stated: “I don’t want my brother to face any social stigma because of me. You never know when I would need to be there for them, or when they would need me.”
A great sacrifice she makes, in not allowing herself to be completely who she is: “Yes, that may be so. But it’s worth it. It’s not like I have a large family, especially now that my mother’s passed away as well. It’s just me and my brother.”
Olhu does wish to begin her surgeries and transform fully, but will keep all on hold until she feels the time is right. He brother is currently 27 years old; married and with child.
Leading two lives
Olhu dresses up as a man most days; wearing jeans and a t-shirt as depicted in the image, and dresses as a female whenever she has a function to attend for which she is contracted to work in the fields of hair and makeup, entertainment, or cooking.
Even so, she is subject to discrimination while dressed as a man. “Even when I dress as a man, people say things on the road – because of the way I look with my long hair, and because of the way I walk. This makes me very uncomfortable.”
She went on to explain that, at present in Colombo, women seem to look down on her and judge her more than men do. “Maybe because the men are curious, or have not seen anyone like me, or because they may want something from me, but the women are sometimes even ashamed to look straight at me.”
“We sometimes get hit and scolded for no reason as well,” she explained, referring to a group of friends who work as sex workers that were picked up by customers a few weeks ago and mercilessly beaten up. “I don’t know why they do it.”
The suffered keep suffering
On questioning Olhu on incidents she personally went through, she seemed at a loss on what to relate to me: “There are so many things that have happened; I really don’t know what to say.”
Finally settling on one, she explained on how she was caught by the Seeduwa police on a stormy night. “This was when I was working (as a sex worker) and had accompanied a fellow worker with a client, who was a three-wheeler driver,” she explained.
She sat in the three-wheeler while the couple went about their business in a rundown building, next to where the three-wheeler was parked.
“Suddenly, I heard police sirens. I just continued to stay there in hopes that my friend and the driver would return soon. The police questioned me on what I was doing, and I stated that I was waiting for a friend. Only the driver showed up after a few minutes – I’m guessing my friend heard the sirens and escaped.”
The policemen then detained Olhu and the driver, and released the driver after charging a Rs. 2,000 fine.
“So, after they let him go, they took me to the Negombo-Colombo road, and pointed to the large drains and asked me to bathe there,” she stated. The rain showed no signs of subsiding. Along with this demand, the policemen asked Olhu to change into a ‘diya redda’ (sarong-like cloth villagers wear when bathing in public baths).
“They made me get into the drain and bathe in drain water. It was horrible. When I emerged, I was covered in trash and grime. After that, they got me to perform – they wanted me to dance on the main road. Vehicles passing by could see everything and many of them even stopped to watch the show these cops were putting. I don’t know who saw me that night,” she said, almost in tears.
Another night, about 10 weeks ago, Olhu was beaten up by a group of young motor cyclists near the Rohana Viharaya (temple) in Peliyagoda.
“This was after I was with a customer, who dropped me off by the side of the road.”
Olhu was looking out for a three-wheeler to catch a ride home, when a group of boys approached her and started beating her with their helmets for no particular reason. She suffered two broken teeth and was hospitalised.
“There is no point in trying to complain to the police when things like this happen because they never take notice, and besides, everyone looks at us differently – in a degrading way.”
However, she mentioned that the Peliyagoda Police department is more tolerant than the rest.
Unjust controls
On asking Olhu if she believes that she is putting herself in danger by engaging in sex work, she claims that they are left with no choice.
She also went on to explain that, it’s not only the transgender community that engages in this type of work, but that many brothels are run by people in positions of power. These people do not want the transgender community to “steal their business.”
“There are many brothels in Negombo, and sometimes the police come down hard on us transgender people, claiming that we are stealing business from the other brothels in the area.
“At one point there were threatening posters put up along the side of the road stating that if sex workers were found they would bathe them in acid,” she said, downcast.
The hypocrite society
Olhu went on to explain that there are certain services that society sees fit, to receive from the transgender community; such as hairdressing, make-up, cooking, and performing. She went on to explain that approximately 70% of the beauticians and hairdressers are transgender or gay men; an island-wide estimate.
“They don’t see us fit for anything else. Why is that? If we are seen as capable to do these things, then why are we bad for other things? Why don’t they understand us? Why aren’t we treated like human beings?” Olhu vented out her frustration over a series of questions.
By Bhavna Mohan
It’s strange how you may meet someone on the street and pass judgement on them, only to have those assumptions shatter once you get even a slight glimpse into their lives.
The famous saying by Plato: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle,” rings truer the more people I interview from the LGBT community in Sri Lanka.
Today, we focus on Olhu Natasha, who isn’t great at expressing herself, or perhaps her continuous expressions and relations of her experiences have made her numb to display any emotion while she speaks, but whose commitment and prioritisation of family has me in awe.
Clad in a lacy little black dress, her eyes darted from side to side as she quickly sized up her surroundings; brick walled corridor that led to a secluded room painted in white, where we settled for our discussion.
Her lazy gaze, smooth movements, and complete surrender to allow me to set the pace for the interview led me to believe she may be one of the fortunate ones – but I was wrong.
Realisation at a tender age
Her story, like many others’, started at a tender age of nine, when she knew she was not like the rest of the kids. Born and raised in Ragama, Olhu was exposed to the typical life of a Sri Lankan child – until then.
Her father abandoned their family and moved to the city. Her mother was then left to fend for the family; including Olhu and her four-year old younger brother. In seeking employment that allowed her to earn enough to support her two children, she flew to the Middle East, to work as a housemaid.
Olhu and her brother were then sent to their aunt’s.
At the time, Olhu’s aunt had a son who approached her for sex; he was 17 years old. “We went on that way for quite a while,” she said, also stating that it was at the age of 15 that she was really able to pinpoint who she was – a transsexual.
Her cousin then got married, after which Olhu refused to continue with their arrangement, much to his exasperation. “I told him that I couldn’t because he was now married,” she said.
Infuriated at her refusal to continue to provide him sexual favours, he spread rumours about Olhu’s sexual orientation, revealing their little secret to his group of friends, who then started harassing her.
“They used to pull me by the arm and force me to be with them, they used to call me names like ‘Ponnaya’ (an offensive colloquial term used to insult homosexual men),” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I got sick of it, and since I realised that I didn’t really have a choice in the matter, I then consensually bed one of those boys, in order to get back at my cousin.”
Treated differently
Olhu sat for her O/Ls, which is the extent of her education at present. Her brother, however, pursued a computer course after his O/Ls and managed to study graphic animation as well, stemming from her continuous encouragement.
“Growing up, I was never treated the same way as other children, I never got the normal things other children got, and I know that is because of the way I was.”
Olhu is extremely family oriented, to the extent to which she sacrifices her own happiness for what she perceives to be her brother’s peace of mind.
I gathered this as I questioned Olhu on her transformative process, and progress on the same front, to which she said: “No I have not started on any of that yet, I haven’t changed my documents as yet to state my gender either,” and on asking her why, she stated: “I don’t want my brother to face any social stigma because of me. You never know when I would need to be there for them, or when they would need me.”
A great sacrifice she makes, in not allowing herself to be completely who she is: “Yes, that may be so. But it’s worth it. It’s not like I have a large family, especially now that my mother’s passed away as well. It’s just me and my brother.”
Olhu does wish to begin her surgeries and transform fully, but will keep all on hold until she feels the time is right. He brother is currently 27 years old; married and with child.
Leading two lives
Olhu dresses up as a man most days; wearing jeans and a t-shirt as depicted in the image, and dresses as a female whenever she has a function to attend for which she is contracted to work in the fields of hair and makeup, entertainment, or cooking.
Even so, she is subject to discrimination while dressed as a man. “Even when I dress as a man, people say things on the road – because of the way I look with my long hair, and because of the way I walk. This makes me very uncomfortable.”
She went on to explain that, at present in Colombo, women seem to look down on her and judge her more than men do. “Maybe because the men are curious, or have not seen anyone like me, or because they may want something from me, but the women are sometimes even ashamed to look straight at me.”
“We sometimes get hit and scolded for no reason as well,” she explained, referring to a group of friends who work as sex workers that were picked up by customers a few weeks ago and mercilessly beaten up. “I don’t know why they do it.”
The suffered keep suffering
On questioning Olhu on incidents she personally went through, she seemed at a loss on what to relate to me: “There are so many things that have happened; I really don’t know what to say.”
Finally settling on one, she explained on how she was caught by the Seeduwa police on a stormy night. “This was when I was working (as a sex worker) and had accompanied a fellow worker with a client, who was a three-wheeler driver,” she explained.
She sat in the three-wheeler while the couple went about their business in a rundown building, next to where the three-wheeler was parked.
“Suddenly, I heard police sirens. I just continued to stay there in hopes that my friend and the driver would return soon. The police questioned me on what I was doing, and I stated that I was waiting for a friend. Only the driver showed up after a few minutes – I’m guessing my friend heard the sirens and escaped.”
The policemen then detained Olhu and the driver, and released the driver after charging a Rs. 2,000 fine.
“So, after they let him go, they took me to the Negombo-Colombo road, and pointed to the large drains and asked me to bathe there,” she stated. The rain showed no signs of subsiding. Along with this demand, the policemen asked Olhu to change into a ‘diya redda’ (sarong-like cloth villagers wear when bathing in public baths).
“They made me get into the drain and bathe in drain water. It was horrible. When I emerged, I was covered in trash and grime. After that, they got me to perform – they wanted me to dance on the main road. Vehicles passing by could see everything and many of them even stopped to watch the show these cops were putting. I don’t know who saw me that night,” she said, almost in tears.
Another night, about 10 weeks ago, Olhu was beaten up by a group of young motor cyclists near the Rohana Viharaya (temple) in Peliyagoda.
“This was after I was with a customer, who dropped me off by the side of the road.”
Olhu was looking out for a three-wheeler to catch a ride home, when a group of boys approached her and started beating her with their helmets for no particular reason. She suffered two broken teeth and was hospitalised.
“There is no point in trying to complain to the police when things like this happen because they never take notice, and besides, everyone looks at us differently – in a degrading way.”
However, she mentioned that the Peliyagoda Police department is more tolerant than the rest.
Unjust controls
On asking Olhu if she believes that she is putting herself in danger by engaging in sex work, she claims that they are left with no choice.
She also went on to explain that, it’s not only the transgender community that engages in this type of work, but that many brothels are run by people in positions of power. These people do not want the transgender community to “steal their business.”
“There are many brothels in Negombo, and sometimes the police come down hard on us transgender people, claiming that we are stealing business from the other brothels in the area.
“At one point there were threatening posters put up along the side of the road stating that if sex workers were found they would bathe them in acid,” she said, downcast.
The hypocrite society
Olhu went on to explain that there are certain services that society sees fit, to receive from the transgender community; such as hairdressing, make-up, cooking, and performing. She went on to explain that approximately 70% of the beauticians and hairdressers are transgender or gay men; an island-wide estimate.
“They don’t see us fit for anything else. Why is that? If we are seen as capable to do these things, then why are we bad for other things? Why don’t they understand us? Why aren’t we treated like human beings?” Olhu vented out her frustration over a series of questions.