India, COVID-19 and the Transgender Community

Worldwide attention turned to India recently following widespread reports about the devastating toll the COVID-19 pandemic was taking there. Join us for a discussion of India, COVID-19, and how the transgender community mobilized globally to save lives. 

Our special guest are with Parivar: Celebrating 3 years of ParivarBayArea, the only trans-led South Asian queer trans organization in America. Learn of the struggles, erasure faced by South Asian Queer Trans intersectionality and in continuing to build critical programming, including COVID relief efforts globally. 

Meet the Speakers

Anjali Rimi is the founder/president of Parivar Bay Area. Parivar Bay Area focuses on driving TGNC economic justice and LGBT inclusion within the South Asian Diaspora. Parivar Bay Area also has been leading global COVID relief efforts including in India, the United States and Canada. She oversees #SITAL (SaveIndianTransALLINDIALives), a pan-India project to provide critical relief efforts to Trans Hijra people of India. Rimi was born in Hyderabad, blossomed in Toronto and stays belonging in Oakland. Rimi currently works as a business development executive in the wine industry. She serves on the boards for The LGBT Asylum Project, East Bay Stonewall Democrats and is the board treasurer for San Francisco Pride. She is a special advisor to San Francisco's Office of Transgender Initiatives, along with Harvard Medical School and Gay Asian Pacific Alliance. She is the general manager for ParivarBazaar.com.

Rachana Mudraboyina is a Hyderabad-based transgender rights activist. Mudraboyina is the chair of the #SITAL (SaveIndianTransALLINDIALives) project currently leading COVID-19 relief efforts across India. She is currently the director of the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), focused on rights of LGBTQI people. She holds dual master’s in commerce and social work and is engaged with UNAIDS and its India LGBTQI think tank. She was a fellow member of International Visitors Leadership Program of the U.S. Embassy from 2016 and visited 5 states in the United States on an exchange program. She oversees the administration of India’s first transgender clinic funded by UNAIDS. Mudraboyina is the founder of You Tube channel Transvision, which won the Population Council’s Ladlee award in the gender sensitivity category both at the national and international levels. She is also co-founder and involved with many organizations including NATTKHA (National Transgender Network) ,Telangana Hijra Intersex, Transgender Samiti, Telangana Queer Swaabhimana Yatra, Telangana Women and Transgender Joint Action Committee. She is also board member of Human Rights Law Network, Bhumika Women’s Initiative and Aman Vedika home for children. 

Devesh Radhakrishnan is a cis, gay Indian immigrant who has been affiliated with Parivar since 2019. As a member of Parivar's advisory committee, he has participated in planning and supporting multiple events for the organization and facilitates Parivar's biweekly support group, Roobaroo. Radhakrishnan moved to the Bay Area after completing his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of Delaware, and he works as a senior scientist at a biotech company in Marin, helping to manufacture therapies for rare genetic disorders. His prior community activities include volunteering with Canal Alliance, Turn Out, SF Marin Food Bank, and Shanti Project's CERV program. He also serves as a trustee for Dharni USA, a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on enabling geography education in India.