Wajood means identity, and pride. Built on what we learned in Pehchan, it was our longest-running project, and it worked to make sure transgender and hijra persons could get sexual health services, stay safe from violence and claim what was theirs from government schemes.

Wajood ran in five states with community partners, and Basera led the work in Delhi NCR. Our team:

Linked people to health care: HIV and STI testing, counselling, and linking people living with HIV to treatment
Responded to violence: our Crisis Response Team helped people facing violence and harassment, and recorded what happened so it could be challenged
Connected people to schemes and social welfare benefits they had been left out of
Built community leaders through “Agents of Change”, community members who brought others into the project and worked closely with dera gurus
Ran support groups where people could meet, talk and help each other

One of the moments the community still remembers is when transgender and hijra persons worked with the Delhi State Legal Services Authority as part of a traffic discipline campaign in Delhi. It was paid work, it was visible, and it made radio and newspaper headlines. For many people watching, it was the first time they had seen the community in a role like this.

Our advocacy also opened doors to work: in November 2020, transgender persons from our community were given jobs with the Noida Authority and Noida Metro.