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Naaz Joshi

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Naaz Joshi
Born (1984-12-31) 31 December 1984 (age 39)
New Delhi, India
RelativesViveka Babajee (cousin)
Modeling information
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Hair colorBrown
Eye colorGreen
AgencyMIHM

Naaz Joshi (born 31 December 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 the Miss World Diversity beauty pageant three times in a row.[3] She is India's first transgender cover model.[4][5] She is the world's first trans woman to win an international beauty pageant with cisgender women.[6]

Biography

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Joshi was born to a Muslim mother and a Hindu Punjabi father.[7] At the age of 7, her family sent her to a distant relative in Mumbai to avoid taunts for her feminine behavior. She worked at dance bars and restaurants to earn a living from 1998 to 2006.[8]

Joshi enrolled at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and completed her formal studies in fashion design.[9] She completed her MBA in marketing from the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad.[10]

At the age of 18, Joshi met her cousin, Viveka Babajee, a Mauritian model. Viveka helped Joshi enter NIFT and she studied Fashion Design. After Viveka committed suicide in 2010, Joshi decided to fulfill her dream of becoming a model and stopped design.[11]

Joshi worked as a sex worker to earn money for her sex reassignment surgery.[12]

Professional life

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After her graduation, she worked with two designers of India, Ritu Kumar and Ritu Beri. She worked with an ex-Member of Parliament, Dr. Udit Raj, for gender sensitization and to make women aware of their constitutional rights and menstrual hygiene.[13] Joshi has worked with Nitin Shakya, the Nodal officer of New Delhi District, to help the trans community. She is working on his project to mainstream the transgender community of India.[14]

Joshi is a pageant director for Mrs. India Home Makers (MIHM). Its goal is to bridge the gender gap.[15]

Joshi works on gender sensitisation programs. She has interacted with the trans community in schools and universities. [16] She is currently the president of an international beauty pageant for trans women named Miss Universe Trans[17]

Pageantry

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Joshi won the title of Miss World Diversity in 2017, 2018 and 2019,She became the first trans woman to win the title for three consecutive years. The win also made her the first transgender person in the world to win an international crown against cisgender women. In 2020 and 2022 she won miss universe diversity competition,The 2020 competition was made digital due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were contestants from thirty countries who were given tasks. Joshi chose to work on women's safety and self-defense.[18][19][20][21]

In September 2018, Joshi won the Miss Transqueen India in Mumbai.[22]

In 2019, Joshi won the Miss Republic International Beauty Ambassador and Miss United Nations 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.[23]

In 2021, Joshi won the Empress Earth pageant, making her India's first trans queen with seven titles. She is the first Indian to win the title. The contest was supposed to take place in Dubai on 1 June 2021, but due to the pandemic, the pageant was done virtually. Female Contestants from more than 15 countries participated in Empress Earth 2021. The countries that entered the top five were Colombia, Spain, Brazil, Mexico and India.[24]

Views

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In an interview during the 72nd Independence Day celebration in India, she said that love is not free in the country. She said her marriage was called off because she is a trans woman.[25]

In an interview with The Times of India, Joshi narrated her hurdles in pageantry. Some contestants backed out, hearing that a trans woman would be competing and some backed out because she had a history of sex work. She went on to say that in the national Indian trans pageant, where she competed in 2018, she was age shamed by her co-contestants because she was the eldest of all the transgender contestants.[26]

In 2018, she claimed to be a victim of gender discrimination after having her booking rejected by a hotel in Gurgaon. A junior employee of the hotel, contacted about this by the Hindustan Times, stated that the booking was cancelled for "gender-based reasons", and 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.[27]

Personal life

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Joshi is a mother of two daughters.

References

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  1. ^ "Naaz Joshi: From being abandoned to winning Miss Universe Diversity;". Pink villa. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  2. ^ Tandon, Rajguru (10 September 2019). "Naaz Joshi,The Trans- Woman Inspiring Change In The Community". Business World. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Maki (23 October 2017). "Transgender cover girl in India". Transgenderfeed. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  5. ^ "Story of India's first trans sexual model". Times now plus. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  6. ^ 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". indian express. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  7. ^ "3 Time Miss Diversity Naaz Joshi Wants To Use Her Crown To Work For Her Community". Women's web. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  8. ^ "3 Time Miss Diversity Naaz Joshi Wants To Use Her Crown To Work For Her Community". Women's web. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Monn, Cherrylan (28 August 2018). "Crowning glory". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  11. ^ Ramesh, Malvika (28 August 2019). "'Trans'-fixed by her beauty". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Meet Aizya (Naaz) Joshi: India's first transsexual to win Ms Diversity 2018". Indian Express. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Naaz Joshi, India's First Transgender Beauty Queen, Participates in Gender Sensitization Program". India west. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Crowning glory". Deccan Chronicle. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Naaz Joshi, India's 1st International Pageant Winner participates in Gender Sensitization Program". desi blitz. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  17. ^ "India Transgender beauty pageant celebrates diversity". dw. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "I'm looking for power to voice my opinions: Miss Universe Diversity Naaz Joshi". New Indian Express. 8 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  21. ^ "naaz joshi wins miss universe diversity 2022 crown". Indian express. 3 August 2022.
  22. ^ kumar, ashok (28 March 2019). "Delhi Transgender Accuses Hotel Staff for Discrimination". New The Hindu. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ "India's first international transgender beauty queen wins empress earth". Womansera. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Independence Day 2020: Is India independent to love?". Midday. 15 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  26. ^ "It's very difficult to find true love as a trans- woman". Times of India. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  27. ^ "Trans woman model alleges gender discrimination by hotel in Civil Lines". Hindustan Times. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
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