First transgender TV news anchor hired in Bangladesh

A TV station in Bangladesh has hired the country’s first openly transgender news anchor.

Tashnuva Anan Shishir, 29, made her debut on Bangladeshi satellite station Boishakhi TV on Monday, International Women’s Day, according to The Associated Press.

During the Monday broadcast, Shishir read a three-minute-long news bulletin and shed tears after as she was cheered on by colleagues.

“I was very nervous, I was feeling so much emotional, but I had in my mind that I must overcome this ordeal, this final test,” Shishir reportedly said in an interview.

Shishir told the AP that she discovered her trans identity early in her teenage years. She recalled being bullied and facing sexual exploitation back then, which eventually led her to attempt suicide.

She also said that during her teen years, her relationship with her family became strained, and they told her she was the reason that they were losing respect in their community.

Shishir told the AP that she left home, moved to the capital of Bangladesh and began hormone therapy. She also took up acting and began to work with local charities and studying public health at a Dhaka university. 

Today she is still pursuing her education in addition to her news anchor position.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2013 made it legal for transgender people in the country to identify as a separate gender. In 2018, transgender people in the country were granted voting rights, the AP reported.

Boishakhi TV also reportedly hired another transgender person in its drama department, saying that it hopes society continues to change.

“Our prime minister has taken many steps for the transgender people. Encouraged by such steps, we have appointed two transgender people, We want the attitude of society to change through these appointments,” station deputy managing editor Tipu Alam Milon, told the AP.