Hua Boonyapisomparn articulated one of the most striking tensions of the session: the way transgender people are often treated as objects of analysis rather than subjects with agency. She reflected on how institutions frequently engage with transgender communities through research, reports, and frameworks, yet fail to genuinely listen. In her words, transgender people are too often “viewed as data or a case study,” their identities flattened into something measurable and digestible for policy or funding purposes. What is lost in this process is humanity - the complexity, emotion, and individuality that cannot be captured in statistics. Hua’s critique exposes a deeper issue: recognition without respect can become another form of erasure. Hua serves as International Trans Fund Program Officer for South, East, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific and has advanced transgender rights in Thailand, regionally in Asia and the Pacific, and globally.
This sense of erasure is compounded by the rise of anti-rights and anti-gender movements, which are reshaping political and social landscapes across the region. Simran Shaikh Bharucha highlighted how, in India, recent legal developments have begun to reverse earlier progress. While transgender identities have been formally recognised, new policies introduce barriers that make that recognition fragile and conditional. These laws often appear neutral on the surface but function in ways that restrict access to healthcare, legal documentation, and basic rights. The impact is not abstract - it is lived daily, in moments of exclusion, humiliation, and uncertainty, where individuals are forced to prove who they are within systems that were never designed to fully accept them.
Yet perhaps the most profound reminder of humanity came from Joey Joleen Mataele, founder of the Tonga Leitis Association (only transgender rights organisation in Tonga since 1992). In speaking about her life, she did not centre policy or activism, but something far more intimate: her family. She shared that, beyond all labels and external definitions, she is still a grandmother to her grandchildren - and that is what she feels most deeply. This simple yet powerful statement cuts through the noise of political discourse. It reminds us that identity is not something that can be fully defined by governments, institutions, or ideologies. No law can determine the meaning of relationships, of love, of belonging. Joleen’s words re-centre the conversation on what is often forgotten: transgender people are not abstract subjects of debate - they are parents, grandparents, siblings, friends. They exist within networks of care and connection that no external force has the authority to redefine.
Joleen's reflection also speaks to a broader truth echoed throughout the session: no one has the right to define another person’s identity. Anti-gender movements often attempt to impose rigid categories, to fix people into definitions that align with ideological or political agendas. But identity, as the speakers made clear, is lived, felt, and deeply personal. It cannot be legislated into existence or erased through policy. The attempt to do so not only strips people of their autonomy but also denies the fundamental human right to self-determination.
Shobha Shukla reinforced how harmful narratives contribute to this denial. Through media and political discourse, transgender identities are often framed as controversial or threatening, creating environments where discrimination is normalised. These narratives do more than shape opinion - they shape policy, influencing decisions that directly affect people’s lives. When transgender individuals are dehumanised in public discourse, it becomes easier to justify their exclusion in practice. Shobha leads CNS (official media partner of Women Deliver Conference 2026) as well as hosts SHE & Rights.
Across all these accounts, a common thread emerges: the struggle is not only for rights, but for recognition as full human beings. The hardships described - legal barriers, social stigma, emotional labour, and systemic erasure - are intensified by a constant need to assert one’s humanity in spaces that repeatedly deny it. And yet, despite this, the speakers continue to resist, to advocate, and to exist unapologetically.
This session ultimately challenges us to rethink how we engage with transgender issues. It is not enough to include transgender people in data, policies, or discussions if their voices remain secondary. It is not enough to acknowledge rights without recognising the lived realities behind them. As Hua reminded us, and as Joleen so powerfully embodied, transgender people are not case studies to be analysed or problems to be solved. They are individuals with identities, relationships, and lives that cannot be defined by anyone but themselves.
Saher Siddiqui - CNS
(Citizen News Service)
