A transgender woman who was abandoned by her parents as a young child has become a mother to nine orphaned children. Manisha, who lives in the Indian town of Pakhanjur in Chhattisgarh, says she takes in orphaned children so that they will never have to suffer the same pain of abandonment she experienced as a child.
Manisha has so far adopted nine children, mostly girls. “I can understand the pain of not being loved and cared for. So, whenever I come across an orphan, I take that child home with me,” she said.
Supported by her team, Manisha looks after their food, clothing, and studies. Manisha was abandoned at birth by her parents when they found she was born intersex. “Intersex persons are born with an anatomy that doesn’t match typical