Open Letter to DJT

Did you know that transgender people have a rich history in non-western countries? Did you know that during the Mughal empire, which lasted from the 16th century to the 19th century, they had a very high social and political status? (Remember the Mughals, the Muslim people that built the Taj Mahal, often referred to as the world's largest monument to love? Did you know that a Muslim culture built the Taj Mahal in India when you bought the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City? Was bankrupting the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, causing 3,000 people to lose their jobs, part of your secret plan to defeat ISIS?)

Anyway, did you know that after the British colonized India, one of the things they did was strip transgender people of their civil rights? Have you heard about the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, which labelled transgender people "habitually criminal"? Did you know it restricted their movements, called for their surveillance, and allowed for the warrantless search and seizure of their property? Did you know there were transgender people living in India in 1871, and in the 16th century for that matter, and that they were mentioned in texts there dating from around 400 to 200 BC? Did you know that during the time of the British Raj, without civil rights, transgender people living in India lost their social and political status and that this led to their options for employment being limited to panhandling, prostitution, and performing for celebrations?

Did you know that in the 20th century, transgender people living in India fought for their rights and that in 1994 they won the right to vote? Can you comprehend that transgender people living in India did not have the right to vote until 1994? Did you know that in 2014, the Supreme Court of India ruled in favor of establishing in Indian law a third gender for transgender people? Do you know about this history? Did you not know? Or do you not care?