Bollywood designer Saisha Shinde (formerly known as Swapnil Shinde) made an announcement on social that she is a transwoman now. Releasing a statement on picture blogging site Instagram, the fashion designer shared a note with pictures of herself and captioned: "Saisha means a meaningful life and I plan to make mine an exceptionally meaningful one." She shared details about her struggles with her own identity.
"It was only six years ago that I finally accepted to myself, and today that I accept to you. I'm not a gay man. I am a transwoman," her emotional note read.
Here’s Saisha Shinde’s post:
"Irrespective of your origin, there will always be something that reminds you of your childhood. For me, it takes me back to the kind of loneliness that aches, to pressures that pushed me into solitude and the chaos of confusion that grew every moment," the celebrated designer wrote in the note.
Saisha said she always knew her body has a woman inside and felt trapped. "All through school and college, while the boys outside tormented me because I was different, the internal pain was far worse. I felt suffocated living a reality that I knew wasn't mine, yet one that I had to stage every day because of societal expectations and norms. It was only in my early 20s at NIFT where I found the courage to accept my truth; I truly bloomed," she added.
She also reflected on her decision to transition saying, “It wasn’t a decision as per se as much as it was something that I needed to accept. I was clearly born with it. I wanted to be a woman. I was a woman inside all my life. But yes, the decision that today I want to start the change - has been an ongoing process for the last five to six years or probably more. When I decided that I’m going ahead with it and I stopped and that I’m going ahead with it and I stopped. And it’s during the lockdown that I eventually end up deciding positively that this is who I’m and I need to start this process right away,” HT reported.
Feature Image Credit: Saisha Shinde/Instagram
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