Trans women run the show at this new Chennai boutique

A few years ago, 23-year-old A Oviya decided to embrace her identity as she came out as a trans woman— which, in her case, resulted in a complete family fallout. Born in Tiruvannamalai, a city in Tamil Nadu, things at home were rocky for a while, with emotional tug-of-war and back-and-forth drama—the works.

She did what many in her position do: left for the city and settled in Chennai, where she picked up a job at a garment shop, working as a tailor. The work wasn’t glamorous, but it paid the bills.

“I was just about surviving,” says Oviya. “I was learning on the job and trying to make ends meet. The wounds of rejection from my family were still fresh, and surviving in a new city without support was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do.”

What she didn’t know was that help was right around the corner. Every day, as she walked to work from her home in Saidapet, she passed the office of Born2Win Welfare Trust—an NGO founded by trans leader Swetha Sudhakar that supports the trans community with education, employment, and empowerment.

One day, Swetha noticed a visibly distressed Oviya walking barefoot and called her in for a chat. After Oviya shared her story, “Swetha simply said, ‘If you ever need anything—emotional backup, mental peace, or even a job—drop in’,” she recalls.

A new employment opportunity

Founded in 2013, Born2Win has been a catalyst for change, helping transgender individuals in Tamil Nadu access education and mainstream employment for more than 120 trans individuals in tailoring, beautician work, and as transport and delivery agents with Rapido.

Swetha—who faced discrimination herself and couldn't finish college through regular channels—completed her BA in Public Administration and MA in Sociology through correspondence, while working with an NGO in HIV education. 

Through personal experience and her work, she recognised a pattern: many young trans persons from small towns flee home only to find themselves unable to secure employment due to stigma.

“Many are forced into sex work because they have no other support system. Even after joining the larger trans community, the options are few,” she explains.

Since its inception, Born2Win has offered training in tailoring, driving, and education sponsorship. As an extension of this mission, the NGO launched two boutiques—one in Saidapet and another in North Chennai—where trans persons trained in tailoring can earn a stable livelihood.

The organisation has also partnered with the Dream Zone Institute of Design in Chennai to offer scholarships in fashion design. 

After another major fallout at home, Oviya realised returning home wasn’t an option anymore. Not long after, she also lost her tailoring job due to health issues.

When she approached Swetha for help, the boutique project was already underway. A few months later, the Saidapet boutique opened, and Oviya became one of the five trans persons hired as tailors. Born2Win also trained her in fabric cutting. Oviya now does more than sewing, she helps run the show.

Allyship and community

Today, Born2Win’s boutique in Saidapet is the first to be entirely run and managed by transgender individuals. Many are trained in tailoring units set up by the NGO in South Chennai and North Chennai. Backed by funding from Altimetrik, a global digital business services company, the initiative has created real employment opportunities and sparked entrepreneurial ambitions.

So far, Born2Win has trained more than 30 trans individuals in tailoring. Among them is 25-year-old Evangeline Martina, currently pursuing fashion design at Dream Zone. Her certification course—costing Rs 2.5 lakh for eight months—is fully sponsored by the NGO. Once she completes it, she plans to either join the boutique or start her own label.

Martina, who lost both parents as a child, worked her way through a BA and MA in English. While fashion was her dream, it was financially out of reach—until now. “I’ve had to work odd, often humiliating jobs just to get through school. A degree in English was all I could afford,” she shares.

She enrolled in the Born2Win scholarship programme with a friend, who had to drop out due to language barriers and commute issues. Martina stayed on, excelled in her course, and recently had her designs showcased at a fashion show hosted by NIFT Chennai.

Swetha emphasises that Born2Win meets community members where they are. “We don’t push them into joining our programmes. We know the mental and emotional burden that comes with family estrangement, social exclusion, and lack of education,” she says.

“Some of the people we support still rely on begging or sex work—and that’s okay. They need it to cover rent, surgery costs, food, and healthcare. Taking on new responsibilities can be overwhelming, especially for trans persons from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds.”

“As they take time and space to decide their next steps, we stand by them in every way we can. That’s our commitment.”