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Are you ready to #peaktrans ?
I mean really #peaktrans ? Like #super #peaktrans ?
On your marks.
Are you ready to #peaktrans ?
I mean really #peaktrans ? Like #super #peaktrans ?
On your marks.
Get set.
Mridal Wadhwa runs the Forth Valley Rape Crisis Centre in Scotland and identifies as a woman.
Go!
Mridal Wadhwa runs the Forth Valley Rape Crisis Centre in Scotland and identifies as a woman.
Go!
He here is gaily admitting to Fox Fisher that he applied for the job and didn’t disclose he was a man (2min20secs).
It’s a revealing moment.
It’s a revealing moment.
Most women get involved in Rape Crisis because of personal experience. MW, however, uses the moment to boast about passing.
A Mumsnetter archived some tweets that he apparently later deleted from Jan 2020, stating he didn’t disclose his biological sex to the Rape Crisis Centre and boasts of his ignorance of the Equality Act; legislation that he should be fully familiar with.
So what kind of leader is he?
MW was interviewed in April 2019 by The Student Newspaper about his work.
https://studentnewspaper.org/an-insight-with-mridul-wadhwa-into-working-in-a-rape-crisis-centre/?fbclid=IwAR3GVW-Brc7bnpBwxIAVcIiEsBHYKK5xN-uYSK1V4HVRa9SBaQ52v3G_U1I
MW was interviewed in April 2019 by The Student Newspaper about his work.
https://studentnewspaper.org/an-insight-with-mridul-wadhwa-into-working-in-a-rape-crisis-centre/?fbclid=IwAR3GVW-Brc7bnpBwxIAVcIiEsBHYKK5xN-uYSK1V4HVRa9SBaQ52v3G_U1I
In the interview MW is quoted as saying that orgasm during rape is a myth, whilst at the same time implying it is indeed a real phenomenon.
How exactly does he think having this discussion help rape victims?
How exactly does he think having this discussion help rape victims?
MW also spends quite a bit of time in the interview debating whether women lie about rape and sexual assault, and comes to the conclusion that we shouldn’t try ‘to dig holes in people’s stories’.
(It’s something I would never do for sure
)
(It’s something I would never do for sure
)
Oh and also, the centre, under his leadership, offers training around gender and pornography. I’d love to see the content of those courses.
Do women who have been raped really need to learn about gender identity? I think not.
Do they need to learn about the harmful effects
Do women who have been raped really need to learn about gender identity? I think not.
Do they need to learn about the harmful effects
of pornography? Possibly.
Like I say, I’d love to see the content of those courses.
MW has also campaigned for the SNP. Here he is in May 2018, openly talking about his gender identity. https://www.facebook.com/theSNP/videos/10156517118179078/
Like I say, I’d love to see the content of those courses.
MW has also campaigned for the SNP. Here he is in May 2018, openly talking about his gender identity. https://www.facebook.com/theSNP/videos/10156517118179078/
He also stood as a councillor for the SNP in the May council elections in 2017.
In April 2018 MW was interviewed about reform of the GRA. At that time he was Rape Crisis Scotland’s Training and Volunteer Coordinator and, again, publicly speaking about his gender identity. https://www.holyrood.com/inside-politics/view,the-gender-recognition-act-transphobia-and-scotland_8663.htm
Sally Brindley, the Chief Executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, is also quoted in the article (though not a direct quote).
So the likelihood that women at the Rape Crisis Centre didn’t know he was a man is … um … coming in at … let’s see … close to zero.
So the likelihood that women at the Rape Crisis Centre didn’t know he was a man is … um … coming in at … let’s see … close to zero.
MW states that no one would abuse self-declaration, a line he wants us to think he has crossed himself, and likens the fear about this to ‘false allegations of rape’.
Must be a laugh a minute to be around when your world has just fallen apart.
Must be a laugh a minute to be around when your world has just fallen apart.
Here is the quote that I should have posted further up the thread, where he sort of claims that the truth doesn't matter, and implies that service users won't be fully believed.
Sorry, I know many tweeps are familiar with this story, and that Glinner wrote about it too at the time. I’m catching up as I missed it.
Anyway I do have some new info to add as I attended this webinar with the lying stinking toe-rag.
Anyway I do have some new info to add as I attended this webinar with the lying stinking toe-rag.
The event was organised by Hidayah, a charity aimed at helping LGBTQI+ Muslim, but ostensibly open to all.
UM, the moderator, opened by offering viewers additional support after the event as the content was ‘sensitive’. https://www.hidayahlgbt.com/about
UM, the moderator, opened by offering viewers additional support after the event as the content was ‘sensitive’. https://www.hidayahlgbt.com/about
We were told that it had to be a safe space and that ‘hate crime’ would not be tolerated, though ultimately the audience was not offered an opportunity to ask questions.
We were informed that two other men had been due to appear but had withdrawn citing fear of hostility. UM said this was symbolic of the hostility TW are currently experiencing. UM asked us to send them our love.
No problem.
No problem.
I rather wondered if it was due to not being paid instead, as I have never witnessed any tough questioning of any trans activist, bar Julia Long’s polite question to Munroe Berghof at Transgressions, who took it rather grandly, even if the audience did have toddler tantrum.
MW, on the other hand, was more than happy to talk about himself.
UM introduced him as a ‘mother of two’ and asked him to speak about where he grew up.
MW grew up in Pune to a Zoroastrian mother and a Hindu father. He went to a Catholic boys school and never hid his
UM introduced him as a ‘mother of two’ and asked him to speak about where he grew up.
MW grew up in Pune to a Zoroastrian mother and a Hindu father. He went to a Catholic boys school and never hid his
feminine identity. He alleged ‘there wasn’t a single day where I didn’t experience some form of abuse or violence, whether it was sexual violence, or name calling, or physical violence, or just being excluded for being the other’.
I visited Pune in 1998 when he was probably
I visited Pune in 1998 when he was probably
about 15 years old, the age he says he decided to transition. Pune is culturally and religiously diverse and home to several religious communities: Hindu, Muslim, Parsee, Jews and a famous synagogue, but also Protestant and Catholic churches.
It’s also the home of the formidable yogi BKS Iyengar and Sathya Sai Baba’s temple (a friend made a day visit and was told to have an HIV test if she wanted to come back). Sai Baba turned out to be a prolific child sex abuser. ISKCON also has bases there and have a long history
of abuses. All of which meant Westerners have been an ordinary sight in the city for a very long time.
Pune was the place where I first learned that internet cafes existed (I didn’t even have a personal or work email at that time) and the travel guide at the time described it
Pune was the place where I first learned that internet cafes existed (I didn’t even have a personal or work email at that time) and the travel guide at the time described it
as middle class and industrial (it's nowhere near a beach or national parks). Indeed there were lots of luxury businesses which existed for the locals, and the McDonalds franchise.
Most of the rickshaw drivers had English and were entirely used to the sight of Western tourists
Most of the rickshaw drivers had English and were entirely used to the sight of Western tourists
gadding about town wearing skimpy outfits.
On the other hand, the sight of men walking down the street half-naked, wearing sarong-type skirts and holding hands with each other, was definitely *not* something we'd ever seen in London. The men were holding hands not as a
On the other hand, the sight of men walking down the street half-naked, wearing sarong-type skirts and holding hands with each other, was definitely *not* something we'd ever seen in London. The men were holding hands not as a
sign of homosexuality of course, but of friendship.
Anyway what I’m trying to say is that MW experiencing gross daily harassment in the city is stretching it for me and then some.
Anyway, back to MW’s story. His father was prone to violence towards his wife and his
Anyway what I’m trying to say is that MW experiencing gross daily harassment in the city is stretching it for me and then some.
Anyway, back to MW’s story. His father was prone to violence towards his wife and his
children. Aged 15 he wrote a letter to his mum stating that he wanted to transition. His grandmother and her sister sought help for him. It was felt that he would probably outgrow his identity. MW decided that he wanted to ‘thrive, not survive’.
When he was 20 he threw two birthday parties, one for people who could come during the day, and one for people at night. Included in the invitations were the 70 other students on his hotel management course. An indication of his wealth, and perhaps popularity, and doesn’t
square with his account of daily ostracisation. Curiously he described the episode as ‘taking away peoples’ power’ to reject him.
The other possibility, he obviously hasn’t considered, we all like a knees up, and if enough people go the host of the party becomes immaterial.
The other possibility, he obviously hasn’t considered, we all like a knees up, and if enough people go the host of the party becomes immaterial.
UM said that when he visited Pakistan, the trans community were more visible and accepted than it was in the UK.
MW said that Pune had a visible population of hijras, who had held a position of privilege in India society until the British criminalised them. He said they had
MW said that Pune had a visible population of hijras, who had held a position of privilege in India society until the British criminalised them. He said they had
their own distinct culture and that the hijra population in Pune were mainly Muslim.
The graph below is taken from a sex health clinic survey, which covers the time span that MW is talking about, suggests the majority of hijra in Pune are Hindu (63%) with just 12% of patients presenting describing themselves as Muslim. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Demographic-Characteristics-of-the-Hijra-Population-and-Their-Comparison-With_tbl1_51661659
MW transitioned in 2001 in India. It was a struggle to find an endocrinology doctor to treat him. He used the internet to research, reading other peoples’ blogs. It was a struggle because he wasn’t from a ‘wealthy background’. A friend of friend from college had been involved
in trans medicine and had just come from the UK who helped.
A psychiatric assessment was made. MW realised at this time that there was more to life than just transitioning, following a period of obsessing over what would happen to his body during transition. MW looked
A psychiatric assessment was made. MW realised at this time that there was more to life than just transitioning, following a period of obsessing over what would happen to his body during transition. MW looked
androgynous at this time and dressed in a ‘non-binary’ way.
MW got agreement to transition at his first meeting with a psychiatrist, ‘which is pretty much what happens here too’, however the psychiatrist did ask to meet with his parents and grandmother. However, unlike here
MW got agreement to transition at his first meeting with a psychiatrist, ‘which is pretty much what happens here too’, however the psychiatrist did ask to meet with his parents and grandmother. However, unlike here
the doctor did not ask him any questions about his clothing or demand that he spend two years living in role.
MW said hormone therapy began after genital surgery.
UM asked how happy was MW on cis-het people making decisions on behalf of trans people, affecting access to
MW said hormone therapy began after genital surgery.
UM asked how happy was MW on cis-het people making decisions on behalf of trans people, affecting access to
health care, education and employment.
MW answered that ‘the world is controlled by those people’. As a 'WOC and immigrant’ MW is used to people making decisions about his life, ‘that know nothing about my life, okay’.
MW gave the example that at the time of transition was
MW answered that ‘the world is controlled by those people’. As a 'WOC and immigrant’ MW is used to people making decisions about his life, ‘that know nothing about my life, okay’.
MW gave the example that at the time of transition was
working in a ‘transphobic’ job but he needed the money. He ‘always got interviews’ but the recurrent sticking point was that he was going to need time off for surgery. Finally after help from one of MW’s friends who had a close relative in management he gained a job.
MW bumped into said relative at a party. Have you ever heard of such transphobic discrimination?
In MW’s eyes it was ‘all these heterosexual people deciding what would happen’.
MW was unhappy that ‘white heterosexual cisgender people’ dominate politically.
In MW’s eyes it was ‘all these heterosexual people deciding what would happen’.
MW was unhappy that ‘white heterosexual cisgender people’ dominate politically.
Also, a famous author had recently said some ‘nasty things’ regardless of the fact TW were being murdered.
MW was sad and angry at all the barriers. He is the only man to manage a Rape Crisis Centre in the whole of the UK. He felt that the women’s movement was exclusively
MW was sad and angry at all the barriers. He is the only man to manage a Rape Crisis Centre in the whole of the UK. He felt that the women’s movement was exclusively
about white women and that TW weren’t seen as equal and were dehumanised. When TW and WOC are let in, it’s because of pity and charity (which in a way infers that his own appointment was not made on the basis of ability).
When people call him a ‘paki’ the Police take it
When people call him a ‘paki’ the Police take it
seriously, however when he’s accurately described as a man the Police refuse to do anything because of free speech. The Police even visited MW to explain this.
How can he feel safe in these circumstances?
How can he feel safe in these circumstances?
UM wanted to know how MW protected his family from discrimination? (He and his partner have the care of two children from the care system.)
MW responded that he has prepared them for racism and that the kids had already experienced racism in the care system because no time was
MW responded that he has prepared them for racism and that the kids had already experienced racism in the care system because no time was
spent on their cultural or racial identity.
A new child had come into his and his partner’s care at the beginning of lockdown. The older child knows that MW is trans and they talked about it a lot. MW laughed and said that when the child was 6/7 years old he got a call
A new child had come into his and his partner’s care at the beginning of lockdown. The older child knows that MW is trans and they talked about it a lot. MW laughed and said that when the child was 6/7 years old he got a call
from the headteacher because another teacher overheard the child telling another classmate ‘how his mum’s penis had been decapitated’.
MW laughed and said ’because that’s how he had understood my transition, it’s really funny’.
MW laughed and said ’because that’s how he had understood my transition, it’s really funny’.
MW response was ‘So what’s the problem here? Is the problem the school’s or somehow my problem?’
MW said the headteacher wasn’t expecting that response and had expected him to be apologetic. MW told the headteacher ‘you’re not going to force me to hide because I have children’.
MW said the headteacher wasn’t expecting that response and had expected him to be apologetic. MW told the headteacher ‘you’re not going to force me to hide because I have children’.
UM asked MW about how the adoption process had gone.
MW responded that it had been made very hard for him and his partner as they were both immigrants but did not have permanent residency in the UK, which was a condition of the process.
MW responded that it had been made very hard for him and his partner as they were both immigrants but did not have permanent residency in the UK, which was a condition of the process.
Had it not been a racist process for them though, he’s sure it would have been a transphobic one. 
Then MW actually suggested that the process was covertly transphobic because social workers could choose 'not even to look at your file'.
Then MW actually suggested that the process was covertly transphobic because social workers could choose 'not even to look at your file'.
UM told MW ‘you’re such a good mum and an inspiration to so many of us’. What other trans role models did MW have?
MW remarked that there were ‘a growing number of us’ but that TWOC had been forgotten. He also cast his mind back to all the powerful TW who played their part in
MW remarked that there were ‘a growing number of us’ but that TWOC had been forgotten. He also cast his mind back to all the powerful TW who played their part in
the royal courts and big empires of antiquity. We are only now building new role models for the new era, found through legislative change trans activism and also the work of allies.
MW mentioned Grace Petrie’s ‘calling out’ the Labour MP Rosie Duffield (who had liked a tweet
MW mentioned Grace Petrie’s ‘calling out’ the Labour MP Rosie Duffield (who had liked a tweet
and then said only women have cervixes). Petrie had really displayed her ‘trans inclusion’. MW had been in the UK for 15 years and in his opinion young trans people were dealing with horrific violence.
UM said that it was 50 years since the Stonewall riots and the people
UM said that it was 50 years since the Stonewall riots and the people
forefront in that were TWOC, and that they were being left out of the conversation. UM wanted to know what advice MW would give to TWOC who were struggling?
MW - ‘It’s okay to struggle’ and said that the Zoroastrian and Hindu faiths had ‘no concept of guilt’ and therefore it
MW - ‘It’s okay to struggle’ and said that the Zoroastrian and Hindu faiths had ‘no concept of guilt’ and therefore it
wasn’t something he struggled with. Guilt and shame make us smaller and you should find a way to free yourself of it. ‘Who we are is not our fault.’
What can LGBTQ+ organisations do to help TWOC?
MW felt that BAME were not welcome into organisations. An example of
What can LGBTQ+ organisations do to help TWOC?
MW felt that BAME were not welcome into organisations. An example of
discrimination were government reports which include an appendix addressing how specific issues particularly affect BAME people; this was evidence of being excluded in his opinion. He urged people to support trans-only organisations and noted that BBC Actionline
had taken Mermaids off their website and was instead advising people with gender dysphoria to contact the NHS - after a very long pregnant pause he said ‘this is absolutely as a result of transphobia’ and explained that trans was an innate feeling.
UM finished the podcast with a pledge that Hidayah would focus on the trans community for their next project, as they apparently had not done enough enough in the past and shared the campaign details in a video clip.
The project is supported by GalopUk and The Mosaic Trust.
The project is supported by GalopUk and The Mosaic Trust.
@threadreaderapp please unroll
