Radio Liberty: local traditions complicate lives of transgender women from Caucasus

Transgender people from Northern Caucasus cannot renew their IDs and find themselves in Russia outside the law, because they are afraid to visit their homeland because of the intolerance of their fellow countrymen. As a result, transgender people from Northern Caucasus often end up in the sex industry and are ready to flee the country, Radio Liberty reports in an interview with a transgender woman from Dagestan.

Earlier, the "Caucasian Knot" has reported about the problems faced by people with non-traditional sexual orientation in Northern Caucasus, including in the report "Killed for orientation – the fate of queer women in Chechnya".

Denise, a 28-year-old transgender woman, who was born as a boy in Dagestan, says that she now lives in a shelter in Moscow, has gone through prostitution and drug addiction, and now hopes to leave the country. According to the transgender woman, she was bullied at school, and a lack of understanding of what was happening to her led to a suicide attempt.

Denise lived abroad, but then returned to Russia and faced threats. The transgender woman began to receive SMS from Dagestan from those who recognized Denise in an erotic film.

The transgender woman notes that she is afraid to finish the "transition," that is, to completely change gender and change an ID. "All of Russia will find out about that, and my relatives will face troubles," says Denise.

"Recently, my mother and I talked about three months ago, and she said to me: 'I curse you to die'," said Denise.