A NEMSIS, INBORN

I was a boy,
A boy as a boy can be,
Playing in the mud,
Rough and tough you see.

As I grew older though,
In most boyish things,
Interest I slowly lost,
I wonder what future brings.

When I did go shopping,
For clothes with my mum,
I lingered in the girl's section,
Till everyone was done.

I loved to comb my hair,
And stared at myself in the mirror,
God, what's happening to me?
Things slowly get clearer.

I google all my symptoms,
And am quite devasted to find,
I have a "Gender identity disorder",
I go out of my mind.

I lock myself in my room,
And cry for several hours,
Whom can I confide to?
In this family of ours.

My mannerisms change,
And more evident they become,
My parents are distraught,
Neighbors treat me like scum.

I am banished from my home,
I cried, try to convince and finally begged even,
But family honor and a sister's wedding is more important,
Away from there I run.

I try to find a job,
And a roof above my head,
No one seems to want to help,
I wish I was dead.

I try to keep to myself,
But no, they wont leave me alone,
Raped and brutally beaten,
To HIV I am prone.

By my own kind,
I am finally found,
Home at last I think,
To them I am emotionally bound.

I want to have a family too,
I life of my own,
An education and a job,
Not to be let down.

What I am is not my fault,
Blame it on hormones and what not,
But I have feelings too you know,
There are institutions whose help I sought.

I want the right to equality,
I want the right to adopt,
I want the right to insurance,
To get my time in court.

Why do you care what I am?
How does sexual orientation matter?
How is it your problem?
My mind is all that matters..

God has created me too,
Just as he has created woman and man,
Last time I checked,
We are all human.

Gender identity disorder (GID), also known as gender dysphoria, is a formal diagnosis used by psychologists and physicians to describe people who experience significant dysphoria (discontent) with the sex they were assigned at birth and/or the gender roles associated with that sex. Affected individuals are commonly referred to as transsexual or transgender. Evidence suggests that people who identify with a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth may do so not just due to psychological or behavioural causes, but also biological ones related to their genetics, the makeup of their brains, or prenatal exposure to hormones.

Here are a few links I found online of organisations in India.
http://sangama.org/
http://sapphokolkata.org/http://www.humsafar.org/

The following page has links to such organisations and helplines in different cities in India.
http://india.angloinfo.com/family/lgbt/

This post is a submission for "Blog for a Cause"