The Sense of Beauty and Tolerance – An Interview with Nisha

 “Ending discrimination starts from acceptance,” says Nisha, the programme manager for PT Foundation’s Transgenders program. When asked what her main objectives were for the programme, she mentioned it was to stop discrimination, such as verbal abuse and physical violence. Also, she aims to reduce the stigma views of the general public on the transgender community. Therefore raising issues that are faced especially by a transgender is most rewarding at her work right now.

Nisha has been with the PT altogether for 5 years. Before getting the current vacancy, which has lasted a bit less than a year, Nisha was volunteering for the PT and later on she was doing the outreach work. After some time of working for the outreach program her career soared as she was promoted to coordinator, and later on she became the program manager.

Her current job gives her challenges in every branch since as a manager she has to be involved with everything that goes around the program.  Right now she is organizing the Fashion and Sense Beauty Pageant which is brought to you by Mila Entertainment & the PT Foundation Transgender Programme.

So what is the Fashion & Sense Beauty Pageant all about? It’s a fund raising dinner with beauty and fashion design in mind catered for the transgender community. However, this is not like any other beauty pageant contest. Although it focuses on how each individual carries themselves in the competition, but it also, concentrates on each individual’s creativity level, as the evening gown competition consists of handmade gowns made by the contestants themselves.

“When doing the prevention work for HIV we need something to draw the community’s attention to, something that attracts the audience, “says Nisha. Therefore there’s a need for glamorous happenings. During the evening filled with entertaining performances, the best designer of the evening gowns and Miss Malaysia will be awarded out of the 14 competitors. 50 percent of the raised funds of the pageant will go to the Transgenders program.

At the end of our afternoon chat Nisha was asked what she enjoys most at her work, the answer was one clear word: the community.