Madhu Bai Kinnar becomes India’s first openly transgender woman elected mayor

Madhu Bai Kinnar, a low-caste transgender woman, was elected on Sunday to serve as mayor of Raigarh in Chhattisgarh, India.

Kinnar, 35, won the central Indian state’s municipal election against an opponent from the Bharatiya Janata Party. According to the state election commission, she won the election by more than 4,500 votes. She is the first openly transgender person in India to be elected to a mayoral office.

“It was the public support that encouraged me to enter the poll fray for the first time and because of their support only, I emerged as the winner,” Kinnar said. A member of the Dalit caste, which were previously referred to as “untouchables,” Kinnar had been earning money by singing and dancing on trains, according to the Press Trust of India, before entering the race.

“People have shown faith in me. I consider this win as love and blessings of people for me,” Kinnar said to reporters. I’ll put in my best efforts to accomplish their dreams.”

In April, India’s Supreme Court ruled that transgender people would be legally recognized as members of a third gender.

“It is the right of every human being to choose their gender,” the court said. The decision ordered the government to institute quotas for transgender people in jobs, education, and other amenities.

Transgender people, transsexuals, cross-dressers, and other gender non-conforming Indians are commonly referred to as hijras, and local rights groups say they face extreme marginalization. Many live in poverty and are sometimes even refused medical care in hospitals.