Published
Article written by
In New Delhi, her parents had to kick her out on the orders of their neighbors because she was considered “too feminine”. Today, she represents India in prestigious beauty pageants. Here is the incredible story of Naaz Joshi, Indian transexual.
Kicked out of her parents’ house, raped by one of her cousins, prostituted in the streets of Bombay… Naaz’s journey has not always been easy. But thanks to several encounters, she managed to gradually find her place in society and now participates in international women’s beauty contests, including the Miss Trans Global contest in 2022.
At a very young age, Naaz is sent by her parents to a distant relative who lives in Bombay and starts working in a roadside restaurant to get by. One day, she meets a transgender woman who welcomes her into her community. To stop begging, she becomes a dancer in a bar. The manager even encourages her to go back to school, which she hasn’t attended since her arrival in Bombay. “The bar owner was very nice. He said to me, ‘You are my child now.’ And he took care of me”, she explains.
Naaz becomes a sex worker to be in contact with men and earn money. But one day, she meets one of her cousins who is a model. Encouraged by the latter, she resumed her studies at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, NIFT in Delhi. As soon as she left, she was hired by one of India’s greatest fashion designers, Ritu Kumar. She was spotted in 2011 by photographer Rishi Taneja and progressed in the modeling world. Over the years, she has participated in many beauty contests, and won several titles such as Miss World Diversity.
all the news in video
Receive the essentials of our news with our newsletter
Newsletter subscription
France Télévisions uses your email address to send you newsletters.
articles on the same topic
Seen from Europe
Franceinfo selects daily content from European public audiovisual media, members of Eurovision. These contents are published in English or French.