Veena Sendre

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Veena Sendre (born 1994) [1] is a trans woman from Chhattisgarh. [2] She worked with a non-governmental organisation and led a grassroots movement to push for gender equality. She was the first to win the Miss Trans Queen title in 2018. [3]

Contents

Early life

Sendre was born as a boy in Mandir Hasaud area of Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. [4] She was a drop out in Class 5 due to stigma at school and she realised her gender due to her feelings in the pre-teen years but was persuaded to rejoin the school again after a few years. [5] Though her parents, opposed initially, later they accepted her and she underwent a sex change operation in 2019. She changed her name from Vinay to Veena and her mother, Urmila Sendre, stood by her. [6] She settled in Raipur, her native place, and became a transgender activist. She joined the Indian National Congress in 2019. [7]

Career

In 2018, she attended the Pride party. [1] The Keshav Suri Foundation organised the first 'National dialogue on queering the pitch - Agents of change', in the state's capital.

In 2019, she met chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and joined the Indian National Congress Party before leaving for Miss International Queen 2019 in Bangkok on 25 February. [1] She is also a fashion queen and model and has walked the ramp in Bengaluru and Lucknow. [8]

Beauty pageant

Sendre won the title of Trans Queen in the national level beauty contest held in Mumbai in 2018. She beat Namita Ammu of Tamil Nadu and Sanya Sood, in the final two rounds. Earlier, she won the Miss Chhattisgarh contest. [8] She thanked people after the victory and said that it is not her personal victory but the victory of the entire transgender community. It is the first time that such a contest was conducted in India. [5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Partying with pride in the capital". The Times of India. 27 October 2018. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  2. "Veena Sendre: Movies, Photos, Videos, News, Biography & Birthday | Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  3. "Miss Transqueen 2018 Veena Sendre Joins Congress". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  4. "Veena Sendre, former Miss Chhattisgarh, crowned India's first Miss Trans Queen". Firstpost. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Veena Sendre of Chhattisgarh became the country's first Miss Trans Queen". Bhaskar. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  6. "India's first 'Miss Trans Queen' joins Congress in Chhattisgarh". The Times of India. 25 February 2019. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  7. "PHOTOS: गांव से निकल बनीं देश की पहली Miss Trans Queen, जानिए कौन हैं कांग्रेस की नई सदस्‍य वीणा सेंद्रे". Jansatta (in Hindi). 20 July 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  8. 1 2 "All You Need to Know About Veena Sendre, India's First Trans Queen". News18. Retrieved 27 June 2025.