Our Formation Story
Kinnar Asmita, was set up in 2010 as a Public Charitable Trust to promote transgenders’ rights in the Thane district of Maharashtra. Kinnar Asmita is the first community-based organisation (CBO) initiated by a group of transgender activists under the leadership of Ms. Neeta Kene in the Thane district. The organisation is governed by the guiding Principle –by the community, for the community, and of the community to strengthen community participation in all spears of life. raise issues and concerns. Since its inception, the CBO has been transforming the lives of the transgender community by following a grassroots approach – educating, being aware and empowering, and voluntarily addressing the social, cultural, and economic discrimination faced by the transgender community in Thane. After persistently advocating with Government and Non-Government stakeholders for 2 years and having resolved numerous crisis and provided numerous services to the transgender community, the group got registered as a non-profit community-based organization in 2010 under The Societies Registration Act, 1860 and The Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950.
Kinnar Asmita Today
Over the last thirteen years, Kinnar Asmita has strengthened its ability to influence the course of social justice action in the field of health rights, social inclusion, and crisis management by strengthening, community participation, encouraging new leadership, and stimulating community action. Kinnar Asmita today has a vibrant work culture that encompasses the aspirations of more than 200 community members to contribute mainstreaming of marginalized and excluded communities in the district of Thane. The organization has 17 full-time staff serving at three different locations such as Bhiwandi, Kalyan, and Shahad to support and manage different interventions on the ground. Today, the organization has strengthened its reach by transforming individuals from socially and economically excluded communities to become change agents. With growing expertise in the field of crisis management, conflict resolution and network strengthening the CBO has set an example in community mainstreaming for peer institutions in the state.