Mariana Zilbershteyn, Untitled (PORTRAIT 2023)

During the weeks leading up to our sitting, Bhagirati openly shared stories of her struggles as a transgender woman living in in a rural community outside of Suva, Fiji, and working as a tutor at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Suva city. From a very young age she knew she was different to other kids and embraced her femininity. Through all our conversations I observed her devotion to her Hindu faith, her amazing strength and resilience, and her sincere vulnerability and struggles she faced being part of a marginalised trans community in Suva. I also learned of the devastating loss of her mother - the one person who truly and unconditionally accepted her as a daughter. In her own word she "had so many things to share and was just speaking her heart out"

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