![]() “Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji tirelessly encouraged his followers to be fearless in their pursuit of a just society. As Sikhs, we have a duty to stand up for vulnerable communities despite the odds and fight for what is right.” With that in mind, I urge my fellow Sikh to understand the current laws being put forth that are detrimental to the livelihoods of transgender and gender non-conforming communities across the country. “Sikhism teaches us to protect the rights of others, to care for all humanity and to live to the highest spiritual level. In a brahminical and white supremacist world, our existence as Sikhs has already been criminalized from Sikhi’s very existence and these laws erasing trans peoples (including trans Sikhs) is situated within that larger and ongoing attempts of erasing Sikhi.” Through further legislating the gender binary, these laws are a threat to the very principles and essence of Sikhi. Sikhi was created to recognize and hold sacred those who otherwise were (and continue to be) criminalized and denied their sanctity. Our Guru Sahib always centered Sikhi around the most marginalized. “Such laws that are criminalizing transness are moving us towards the criminalization of Sikhi. –Baljit is a queer cis Sikh woman who lives in Georgia, USA I want them to include this community in their seva with the same generosity of spirit and love as any other.” I want the greater Sikh sangat to come to know my sangat – the sangat of beautiful people not given a fair shake by this society, the sangat who only wishes to love whom they love and live authentically. These laws cutting off trans youth from gender-affirming healthcare will absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, end up in dead trans youth. Even in death, their families and obituaries misgendered and deadnamed them. Still others have made attempts, and devastatingly, two friends of mine over the years succeeded in killing themselves. Others were forced back into ‘the closet’ by family pressure or work discrimination, and it led to one hospitalisation and several destructive behaviours previously unobserved in those individuals. I have witnessed suicidality in trans friends who lost access to healthcare and therefore couldn’t afford their HRT (hormone replacement therapy), and it is terrifying to watch loved ones’ lives depend on the success of crowdfunding campaigns for care. My sangat are the queer, the gender non-conforming, the trans folks, and the non-binary people who are often not thought of when we say ‘sarbat da bhalla’ (may everyone prosper) in our ardaas. “The intersection of my queerness and my Sikhi has meant that, like so many others, I have needed to choose my sangat. ਜੀਵਣਿ (jeevan, living) What would you want your fellow Sikhs to know right now about the current laws being instituted? The questions were informed by Jap Ji Sahib when Guru Ji tells us what power we have over our ਜੀਵਣਿ (jeevan, living), ਰਾਜਿ (raj, ruling/governance), ਸੁਰਤੀ (surati, knowledge/understanding) ਜੁਗਤੀ (jugati, skillfulness/pathway). We provide abridged answers where appropriate and full responses otherwise. From those who were willing to talk with us, we shared four questions and asked that they respond as best they could from their experiences. We put out an open call to queer and/or trans-identifying Sikhs who wished to share their experiences and knowledge regarding Sikhi, their lived experiences as queer and/or transgender Sikhs, and how they are experiencing the current legislative attack on transgender youth and communities. They also share ideas on how allies can help.Ĭontent note: Mentions of suicide & violence Testimonials from Our Sangat ![]() In part 2 (below), prabhdeep interviews several Transgender & Queer Sikhs and showcases their challenges & hopes for our society and panth. In part 1, they write about the bills, a Sikh perspective, and personal experiences. Passionate about social justice and Gurmat, prabhdeep shares their thoughts on the proposed laws targeting transgender communities. Prabhdeep singh kehal (they/them) is a writer, community scholar, and educator. ![]()
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