Feb 08, 2008Quickie Link: New Employment Opportunities for Nepal’s Transgenders
By vanrozenheim
(Nepal) - Transgender people in Nepal will now have the opportunity to study to become hairdressers and beauticians under a new scheme funded by the Norwegian government. Transvestites are a particularly marginalised and vulnerable group with little or no access to the job market, and frequent violence directed against them. Sexual minorities experience regular extortion, exclusion from family and society, verbal and physical abuse, sexual abuse and rape, arbitrary detention, blackmail and even murder. Norway says it is committed to fighting sexual discrimination wherever it occurs as part of its development policy. Because of their physical appearance, transgender people are often prohibited from attending school and experience great difficulties in finding jobs. The project seeks to provide income-generating skills training in order to give sexual minorities, who often work in the sex industry, the opportunity to seek alternative jobs.
