Amruta Soni is an Advocacy Officer for the states of Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh for the Vihaan Project. She is a transgender who works as an activist for trans people in society.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
When Amruta was small, she used to wear her mother’s sarees and because of that her parents used to fight over the boy’s girlish preferences, and eventually they divorced each other.
Amurta was married to Alpesh Soni but after some years she took divorce from him because he was cheating on her.
EDUCATION
Amruta is graduated from Jamia Millia Islamiya, Delhi. Later she completed MBA from Symbiosis, Pune.
HER INSPIRATIONAL STORY
This one word expresses how difficult it is to live as a transgender person in Indian society. It is also rather terrifying that transgender youth are more likely to commit suicide as a result of rejection, bullying, and other forms of abuse. The transgender community suffers numerous challenges, including a lack of sufficient education, a discriminatory healthcare system, employment rejections, and societal humility. Few people take a stand against injustice and do something unique. Amruta Alpesh Soni from Chhattisgarh is one such person, currently serving as a dignified Advocacy Officer.
Amruta’s path to becoming an Advocacy Officer was not without difficulty. In Solapur, Maharashtra, she was born as Paul into a common Catholic household. Amruta was teased as a child by her entire family and friends for wearing her mother’s saris. Her parents used to battle about their son’s girlish tastes, and they eventually split. Amruta stayed with her mother, who eventually enrolled her in swimming lessons in the hopes of regenerating Amruta’s manly traits.
When Amruta did not change by the age of 16 as her mother expected, her mother eventually sent her to her uncle’s house in Delhi to study, expecting that Amruta would toughen up if she was away from home. However, Amruta’s dream was shattered when she was assaulted and raped by a family member. She did not receive enough healthcare and was mocked at the hospital where she sought assistance. She was apprehensive to seek assistance from the police and instead went straight to her mother. Amruta’s mother gave her Rs 100 and told her to get out of there and do something meaningful with her life.
Amruta moved to Pune from her uncle’s house. She would sleep on a hospital bench at night, and to keep safe, she would disguise herself and look like a guy. Every morning, she would fill over ten buckets of water for a tea stall owner only for a cup of tea. She eventually met other members of the transgender community there. She further underwent a sex-change operation, but she also chose to complete her education. Amruta, on the other hand, worked as a sex prostitute for a living. She did sex work for a long time since she needed money to finish her studies. Things began to change after she completed her studies. Later, when Amruta went to meet her mother, she was surprised to see her son dressed as a woman. Nonetheless, Amruta’s mother urged her to finish her studies, which she was keen to achieve. She eventually earned a degree from Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi. She later earned an MBA from Symbiosis in Pune.
Amruta Soni was resistant to the idea that transgender people are different and cannot work in traditional employment. She also did not expect special treatment since she was born in a particular way. Amruta finally met and married Alpesh Soni. She hoped things would improve, but she soon realised that he was cheating on her, so she left him. Amruta discovered she was HIV-positive in 2012. After that, life as she knew it came to an end. Amruta had already been through a lot in her life, and her disease came as a huge blow. Her friends, however, later referred her to an organisation that worked with HIV-positive people.
Amruta chose not to overlook a society that had been harsh to her while she was undergoing treatment. She soon became an Advocacy Officer for the Vihaan Project in the states of Chattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The National AIDS Control Programme funds the Vihaan Project, which provides care and assistance to HIV patients. She also attended the Annual Philadelphia Trans Health Conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Centre in the United States. Amruta Soni is now a transgender activist in society. She’s come a long way, and her life has taught her many important things.
The most powerful aspect is that Amruta Soni never gave up on her circumstance and remained unapologetic about who she is.
