Making a difference in Society: Karnataka’s first transgender Auto Driver

To quench the thirst of a good living a person does everything. In this background, 39-year-old Kaveri Mary D’Souza a transgender woman from Karnataka Udupi’s Cherkadi village, Pethri wanted to live her life on her terms. She opened a grocery store, worked as an outreach worker for HIV/AIDS patients, led her life as a beggar, and later worked as a sex worker too.  Today with her dignified profession Kaveri is leading a respectful life and has become the first trans woman of the state earning her livelihood as an Auto driver. An inspiration for many Kaveri for over 9 months now finished 5000 rides driving at Pethri village.While reminiscing about her life journey, Kaveri said, “The ride was not smooth. At the age of 15 when I was in 10th grade, I began to experience a deep sense of being a female and realized changes in my body. Later I ran away from my village Pethri and had to sleep at the bus stands.”

When she was losing hope, she got in touch with the transgender Mangalmukhi community. She went with them to Bengaluru. Kaveri didn’t want to disclose her identity and lied to them that she was from Kodagu (Coorg) and that way became Kaveri. With the help of an NGO, she underwent sex reassignment surgery in Bengaluru.She said, “I joined and worked with an NGO that was running for transgender people. This NGO helped financially with the gender-affirming surgery when I was 19 years old.”She was approached by MP B. Jayashree and worked as a group worker. While working there in 2013 she got tuberculosis and quit the job. Cured after two years, Kaveri went again to Bengaluru in 2015 but didn’t get the job. She tried to get a job in more than 50 companies. As she was transgender, she was rejected by one and all.

After her mother’s demise, she moved back permanently to Pethri village. She started her grocery store but during the second lockdown of the pandemic, Kaveri faced massive losses. When Kaveri was in Bengaluru, she got an opportunity to try her hand at driving an auto-rickshaw. Her neighbour was an auto-rickshaw driver and Kaveri wanted to drive a vehicle from a young age. The skill she learned transformed her life. With the support of a Samruddhi Mahila Mandli and obtaining a loan from a bank, Kaveri managed to buy an autorickshaw. Later Humanity Trust Belman, an NGO of Udupi cleared all her loans and purchased an auto in her name. As she owned her auto then there was no looking back. It was a life-changing moment in her life. In 2021 she got her identity proof and license. Kaveri said, “Now I experience a sense of freedom and independence. This is a powerful way of ensuring a sustainable living and source of income. Being a trans woman auto driver, the path is not easy. Our bodies are objectified and subject to harassment, she added.”The Humanity Trust Belman gave her money through which today she is managing to construct her own home. Seeing her growth, many transgender women in her clan are opting for businesses like agriculture and farming, animal rearing, etc. With a dream to adopt and raise a child, Kaveri said, “Being a transgender, my goal is to lead a life of self-esteem and become part of mainstream society.”