YoungandTrans

Ya-all (Yawol), an Imphal-based NGO launched India’s frst all Transgender football team that not only plays football but also battles prejudice and stigmas deep rooted in our society. Ya-all was founded on May 17, 2017, it is a youth-led network of LGBTQ people and allies. They launched the football team at the Queer Games event in Imphal, during the colourful festive season of Yaoshang, March 8.

The spirited team was formed when Saddam Hanjabam, Ya-all founder, attended a sporting event located with the annual fve-day Yaoshan Festival in Manipur in 2018. He noticed that the teams were automatically split into two strict columns. Hanjabam noticed how Manipal known as the sports capital of India, itself turned out to be equally involved in a system of dualistic gender distinctions, while completely excluding the queer community. Being a queer himself, Hanjabam has seen frsthand how difcult it is for people to accept themselves and also have their families accept them. Getting out of the closet is no easy task, thus, Hanjabam wanted to raise social awareness and represent the queer community to the society.

The NGO has now sowed the seeds against queerphobia and sexism in the sports community by assembling a strong team of 14 highly talented and passionate members. They have created a safer environment for Manipur’s queer youth, combat stigma and discrimination, and care about their mental health and the well-being of many. “Our purpose is to help them enjoy their identity and provide a platform to prove that they can do things together. This will help change our society’s mindsets towards the third gender”. Chaki, a team member, states that the difculty a trans-person faces when it comes to pursuing a sporting passion is redundant and prejudiced. This rejection and isolation from the sporting community goes against the true essence of sportsmanship. They hope other players can come out and compete, improve and build a strong transgender team.

At Ya-all, there are weekly sessions where trainers and volunteers come to train the players and help with their ftness and style of play. They also use the crowd-funded money to provide travel allowance for the queer players coming from far and wide, while also providing them refreshments during a tournament. Not only that, several brands like Fast & Up, and Decathlon have also come and shown support for this great initiative for queer people during tournaments, and the United Nations has also recognised the organisation as they are working towards making a diference in the queer community.

Midfelder Suma, a security guard at a threestar hotel in Imphal, stated how people have started to accept him. His colleagues and boss fnally shows interest in his sporting talents and even if I have an unscheduled training day, my supervisor grants me time of. In a way, the most important service that Ya-all provided these young people was giving them families. Players who are often mentally stifed by the family they were born into feel more at ease with each other on the pitch, even if they are tired from strenuous exercise.

We are young and Trans- we have no identity, we have no power, we have no will, The eyes of our society is blurred with the soot of stigma and discrimination. Yet still, we continuously walk that difcult path uphill.

But all thanks to Hanjabam and his ticket to the Annual festival soccer game, when he noticed the distinctive binary grouping of only Male and Female, He said something- Oh wait! Where are my community of LGBTQIA’s ?

We deserve to be a sportsperson on a larger scale,

And so he whispered, “ I think it’s time for a societal upscale”.

Manipur, being the powerhouse of sports, Allowed trans-youth to refuge in the football courts, Forced to hold their grounds against distinctive facial expressions and targeted racial slurs, Until Ya-all, launched them as a team, overdue for many years.

Seeds are now sown against queerphobia and gender discrimination, Ya-all has created a safe environment and mental support for the queer youth with no hesitation, Once who were never allowed to play football as they carried the Transgender tag of degradation, Are now enjoying their freedom and platform, due to that little prejudice fxation.

I have been called....