Adnan Akib finds out how Ivan Ahmed Katha has fought the seclusion of the society with her passion for creative art forms to become a role model for young transgender
The society is not always just. Some young people give in to the cruelty of the society, some take lessons and become strong at heart to do better. Ivan Ahmed, a cultural activist has turned herself into a role model for many transgender with her activities. Ahmed, popularly known as Katha, became a pioneer of cultural activists among the trans community in Bangladesh and is the only recognised transgender dancer in Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
Her fascination towards dancing developed at a very young age when she accompanied two of her sisters to Bulbul Lalit Kala Academy. Born in a traditional family of six siblings, Katha has four elder sisters and a younger brother.
‘I liked almost all the dance steps they did at that time. I liked dance so much that I started practicing the steps myself,’ she says. The teachers at the academy sensed her love for dancing and they requested her mother to enroll her in the academy. Treated as a son in the family during her young age, her mother did not get her into the academy, says Katha.
This however, did not stop her passion. She attended her first dance class without letting anyone know. From then on she has been nurturing her classical dance skills. Most of her performances are organised by the government and NGOs such as Naripakkha and ActionAid.
While an artist by passion, Katha completed her secondary school from Ideal Model School and higher secondary school from Notre Dame College, Dhaka. Katha reminisces her childhood saying, ‘I had a very normal childhood like other kids. My life revolved around my family, friends and neighbours. But everything started changing when I stepped into my teenage. Like all other people, changes came into my life but not the same way it comes to other people. At 12, I could understand that I am not like other people,’ says Katha.
As time progressed, Katha started embracing herself the way she is. ‘I started considering myself as a human being,’ she says. Born in a traditional family, Katha holds great respect for her parents. Like every mother her mother too had a soft heart for her. Her mother helped her in every step of her life and she still does. Katha says, ‘My father was a very nice person. But he was short tempered.’
As she grew up, her experience with the backlash of the society for her biological difference started taking a toll on her. While she fought against the social seclusion, she occasionally became tired of fighting them. That was one of the reasons she gave up on pursuing her studies beyond college.
Frustration gripped her when she experienced her family members too started disliking her being with them. ‘Society started asking my family why I am like this. My siblings complained to my parents about the discomfort they experienced in their communities because of me.’
‘I even attempted suicide once but I failed. My family saved me and some medical treatment returned me to my regular life,’ says the lone fighter. She had eventually left her family and started living with friends and well wishers but she regrets the decision.
‘Leaving home is never a right decision. I don’t want someone else to do the same. Everyone should live their life with their family irrespective of their gender. The government should make the environment where everyone will get the same facilities from the society.’
While her community has kept her mental strength and support, embracing the reality of living a life separately from her family she loved so much continues to keep a void.
While separation from her family took an emotional toll on her life, Katha turned around her sorrows by finding happiness in her work. She engaged herself heavily in dancing, writing and acting. She started working for the community she belongs to. She involved the members of her community in the activities she was good at. ‘I started working for different cultural academies from institutions like Mukul Fouz, Kathakali Shishu Kishore Sangathan to Shishu Academy and Shilpakala Academy,’ says Katha.
‘I have worked in 72 different Bangla cinemas. Shotruta, Jiner Badshah, Pita Matar Shontan and Kajer Beti are some of the hits she has worked in. I worked here as choreographer and I acted in some of these cinemas too,’ says Katha.
Besides choreographing and acting in cinemas, Katha has written scripts and performed in dramas too that have been aired on occasions like Independence Day, Victory day, International Mother Language day and others. Currently, she is writing a song titled ‘Kotha Gatha Mala’, which will be recorded soon, she says.
Katha is the first transgender in Bangladesh to receive award for her dance as ‘First Transgender Annual Dance Competition’ from Shilpakala Academy. Her choreography and dance performances have rewarded her with trips to Germany once and she is due to travel to Germany again in August.
Katha has been an active campaigner for rights of women as well as marginalised communities. She currently runs the ‘Shocheton Samaj Sheba Hijra Sangha’, which works for the rights of transgender in Bangladesh. She conceived the idea of this organisation in 1999 and currently has 500 members working with the organisation.
‘The society treats us differently and it makes the transgender extremely depressed,’ says Katha. She appreciates the government for recognising transgender as third gender. ‘At least we have an identity now. We are the legal citizens of Bangladesh. This is good news for us. It is not possible to change everything in one day. But I dream of that day when every person on earth will be treated as human being above their gender identification. I hope the members of our community will shine with their activities someday,’ Katha concludes.