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Photograph: Jewella C Miranda
'We don't need anything except voting cards'
NAME: Anuradha, Aishwarya, Roja, Seema, Layla from Mahim, Mumbai

They are a family of sorts. They live together in a cluster of rag-tag tin shacks.

And if they could vote, they would vote together.

They live along the railway tracks at Mahim, northcentral Mumbai. A few of them hit the road every day begging; the rest stay at home servicing clients. They make about Rs 20 to Rs 50 per day each.
All of them hail from a remote area of Tamil Nadu. But that was long ago and they no longer remember the name of the place and consider themselves Mumbaiwallahs

This group of eunuchs (hijras) have no issues with government. Nor any preferences "Yes we get enough water and plenty of electricity," says Aishwarya. "We don't need anything."

"But if we could get voting cards, we would be happy," says Anuradha, who says she is 30. "Our bara behan once had a voting card but she has died. And now none of us can vote. Can you help us getting voting cards?"

Anuradha, Aishwarya, Roja, Seema, Layla spoke to Zelda Pande

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How We Will Vote


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