Fundraising platforms in India have helped people in need of medical treatment or other financial needs, and now this spectrum of public help appears to be widening. One particular call for public help caught the attention of many on social media earlier today was where a person started a fundraiser for hair removal.
The fundraiser was started by a Bangalore based person Prakriti Soni, who needed funds for hair removal as the financial condition of the family was not stable.
While hair removal might sound too mundane a thing for which a fundraiser should be started, Prakriti explained that it was nothing less than a “life altering procedure” for her, who is 21-years-old and identifies as trans-woman.
She explained that she must get rid of the hair on her body to remove the mismatch between her biological sex and her gender identity. This mismatch was majorly affecting the mental health of Prakriti, giving her distress and discomfort – something that is known as “gender dysphoria” as Prakriti explained in her fundraising page.
She said that the Covid-19 induced lockdowns were making her gender dysphoria worse and thus she has decided to completely remove the body hair via laser treatment. Since her own or her family’s financial condition is not stable, she decided to seek public help, and it appears to have worked for Prakriti Soni, who was earlier Gaurang Soni.
To support her claims, Prakriti uploaded a doctor’s letter from Ramaiah Memorial Hospital of Bangalore. The letter stated that the “client refers to themselves in the feminine gender and to respect their feelings I will be using female pronouns throughout this report.”
Doctor’s letter identifies Prakriti as a ‘male to female’ transgender person who had described a desire to be and to be treated like a member of the opposite sex since early childhood. It also states that her family is supportive of this and so is her social network, which reflected in the fact that Prakriti was able to raise more than half of her targeted fundraise.
An anonymous person who helped with 5000 rupees, the maximum individual contribution at the time of this report being published, left a message that read “Hi Prakriti! Wish you all the very best. I wish you are able to meet your target and get your hair treatment done and feel better!! You are an amazing person and deserve the best!!”
Another contributor, who identified himself as Adil, said, “I am a friend of Nikita whose friend’s with mridula. And I can’t tell you how happy I am for you and hope that everything works out fine (sic.)”
The doctor’s letter dated 28 October 2020 report said that Prakriti reported gender congruent experience of living like a woman for the past two years. It further revealed that Gaurang alias Prakriti liked being with and playing with girls in the school, and also acted like them.
“She wants to get rid of both primary and secondary sexual characteristics because of the marked incongruence she experiences. She seeks hormone replacement therapy to feminize her body to suit her gender identity,” the doctor’s letter declared.
It is not clear if Prakriti has already undertaken hormone replacement therapy or she might need another fundraiser for that. However, the hair removal fundraiser was on track.
