>
The maiden edition of a transgender beauty pageant in India held on Sunday with Nitasha Biswas making history by being crowned India’s first ever Miss Transqueen.
A total of 17 transgender ladies competed in the pageant held in a hotel in the satellite city of Gurgaon, close to the Indian capital Delhi.
Miss Transqueen India aims to celebrate gender fluidity and enhance the profile of India’s trans community.
The 26-year-old won the opportunity to represent India at the International Queen pageant in Thailand in March 2018.
Transgender people were able to legally identify as a third gender when India’s supreme court ruled in their favor in 2014.
Unlike other pageants, Miss Transqueen India declared all the participants “winners,” in recognition of their struggle for acceptance and recognition.
The event was judged by an 11-person panel, including Miss Transsexual Australia and Gauri Sawant, a longtime transgender activist.