Lone hijra candidate Rani wants to change negative narrative of society

Anwara Islam Rani is contesting as the only candidate from the hijra community in the referendum and the 13th National Parliament elections.

She has participated in the elections as an independent candidate from the Rangpur-3 constituency with the deer symbol.

Rani is a familiar face to voters among the eight candidates in this important constituency of the divisional city of Rangpur. She has experience of participating in parliamentary elections before. Her candidacy as a different gender has created additional interest among the general public.

In the last 12th National Parliament elections in 2024, Rani received 23,000 votes with the eagle symbol. In that election, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader was elected with 81,000 votes.

Rani has entered the electoral race again with the aim of establishing the fundamental rights and dignity of the marginalized community. Gender experts and civil society representatives see her contest as courageous and significant.

Regarding the election preparations and voting environment, Anwara Islam Rani said, "I have faced discrimination due to my gender identity since birth. I spent my childhood and adolescence in a hostile environment."

She said, "I established the 'Nyayo Odhikar Tritiya Ling Unnayan Sangstha' in 2009 with the aim of changing the negative attitudes of society. This organization has already provided employment to 60 out of 400 people from the transgender community and education to 32."

Rani said, "Even though the Bedes, Dalits, Santals, transgenders, minorities and other marginalized communities of the country are elected, no one speaks about them in parliament. I want to work as the spokesperson of these communities in parliament to achieve their fundamental rights."

If elected, she pledged to play a role in meeting the basic needs of the people, including education, health, food, housing and security, as well as create employment, ensure healthcare and work for the infrastructural development of Rangpur. She also spoke about freeing the Shyama Sundari Canal, planned urbanization, gas connection and implementing the Teesta Master Plan.

The 33-year-old Anwara Islam Rani has passed the eighth grade. She was born and raised in Rangpur city. She is participating in the election for the second time. She said that since she is not bound to any party, she will be able to work independently for the benefit of the people.

Regarding the voting environment, Rani complained that there is still no equal opportunity for everyone. The aggressive behavior of some candidates has created panic, especially the minority community is suffering from insecurity.

This time, Jatiya Party's GM Quader, BNP's Shamsuzzaman Samu, Jamaat-e-Islami's Mahbubur Rahman Belal and a few other candidates are contesting alongside Rani in the Rangpur-3 constituency.

However, whatever the election results, civil society representatives are seeing Anwara Islam Rani's candidacy as a positive.

Sujan Rangpur District General Secretary Nasima Amin said that Rani's fight to change the society's perspective on the neglected community is inspiring. The desire to change society by becoming a public representative is undoubtedly an expression of courage.

According to the District Returning Officer's office, there are 58,240 total voters in Rangpur-3 constituency. Of these, 252,370 are male, 255,849 are female, and 5 are transgender voters.