Naaz Joshi
Naaz Joshi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Aizya Joshi 1984 (age 39–40) |
| Modeling information | |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Eye color | Green |
Naaz Joshi (born in 1984 in New Delhi India[1]) is India's first transgender international beauty queen, a trans rights activist[2] and a motivational speaker.
Joshi won Miss World Diversity beauty pageant three times in a row.[3] She is also India's first transgender cover model.[4] She also happens to be India's first International Trans Sexual beauty queen.[5]
Early life
She was born as Aizya Naaz Joshi to a Muslim mother and Hindu Punjabi father.[6] At an early age of 7, her family sent her to a distant relative in Mumbai to avoid taunts from the society for her feminine behavior. She worked at dance bars and restaurants to earn her living. Later, she enrolled National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and completed her formal studies in fashion design.[7] She later completed her MBA in marketing from the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad.[8]
Personal life
Joshi worked as a sex worker to earn money for her sex reassignment surgery.[9] In 2018, she claimed to be a victim of gender discrimination after having her booking rejected by a hotel in Gurgaon. Although a junior employee of the hotel initially contacted about the matter by the Hindustan Times stated that the booking was cancelled for "gender-based reasons", this was later denied by the general manager who stated the "allegations of discrimination of any kind were false" and that the hotel had not yet confirmed Joshi's booking because it was still waiting for approval from the regional sales office.[10]
The status of India’s transgender population improved when the NALSA was able to get transgender recognized as a third gender by the Supreme Court of India on 14 April 2014.[11] She has also won the Miss Republic International Beauty Ambassador 2017 and Miss United Nationals Ambassador pageants. On winning this particular title, she told Indulge Express that winning the crown gives her more power and responsibility towards society, with which she aims to work towards bringing the transgender community into the mainstream.[12]
Pageantry
Joshi first won Miss World Diversity in 2017, and retained her title the following year. She then became the first transgender to win the title for the third consecutive year in 2019. The win also made her the first transgender person in the world to win an international crown against cis-gendered women.[13]
She also won Miss Transqueen India in 2018.[14][15]
References
- ^ "India's 1st International Transgender Beauty Queen Once Washed Dishes, Survived Sexual Assault!". The better India. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
- ^ Tandon, Rajguru (10 September 2019). "Naaz Joshi,The Trans- Woman Inspiring Change In The Community". Business World. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
- ^ Mathur, Priyanshi (8 August 2019). "making India Proud: Transgender Model Naaz Joshi Wins The Title Of Miss World Diversity 2019". INDIA TIMES. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ Maki (23 October 2017). "Transgender cover girl in India". Transgenderfeed. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ Ramesh, Malvika (28 August 2019). "Transfixed by her beauty". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "3 Time Miss Diversity Aizya Naaz Joshi Wants To Use Her Crown To Work For Her Community". Women's web. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
- ^ Soni, Preeti (27 August 2018). "Abandoned at 7, raped at 11, India's three-time Miss Diversity, Naaz Joshi, shares the gut wrenching plight of the country's trans community". MSN. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ Monn, Cherrylan (28 August 2018). "Crowning glory". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ Norboo, Rinchen (27 August 2018). "India's 1st International Transgender Beauty Queen Once Washed Dishes, Survived Sexual Assault". The Better India. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Trans woman model alleges gender discrimination by hotel in Civil Lines". Hindustan Times. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
- ^ Daz, Deepannita (24 February 2019). "Being Aizya Naaz Joshi – From Washing Dishes In A Roadside Dhaba To Winning Miss World Diversity". Beyond the Numbers. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Shruti (9 October 2019). "Creating History: Transgender Model Naaz Joshi Wins Miss World Diversity For The Third Time!". What's Hot. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Not easy to compete with cis women: Naaz Joshi, India's first transgender to win Miss World Diversity title thrice2018". Indian Express. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ "Naaz Joshi First Indian Transexual to Win Miss World Diversity 2018". APN NEWS. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ Sharma, Shweta (17 August 2019). "Not easy to compete with cis women: Naaz Joshi, India's first transgender to win Miss World Diversity title thrice 2018". New Indian Express. Retrieved 23 October 2019.