Throughout the night, Anjali Rimi held back tears.
For six years, she has led Parivar Bay Area, an organization centered on and supporting Hijrah and Kinnar people in the United States and across the globe.
On Oct. 20, during Diwali and in a packed, brightly decorated office full of long-time friends, family and supporters, Rimi was able to cut the ribbon and officially open a physical space that Parivar can call home.
“I’m feeling very grateful,” she said to KQED. “We have tried many times to see if we can actually have a place where we can belong, we can be ourselves. And being in this physical space, it gives us that rooting.”
“It also looks at our existence as one that is formidable when we are being erased as human beings.”
Parivar describes itself as the nation’s first and only trans-led organization centering Indian, South Asian and Global South transgender, gender-diverse and intersex immigrants and asylees.
The center aims to provide resources like legal assistance and leadership training. Parivar’s long-term goal is to become an official nonprofit.
Parivar’s Director of Strategy Phanny Lun said it is “difficult for anyone right now to be transgender.” While right-leaning figures have been targeting transgender people for years, the Trump administration has intensified anti-trans policies on a federal level.
Shortly after his inauguration, President Donald Trump issued an executive order stating that it “is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.”
It’s why — in the midst of a politically turbulent time — a space like Parivar is “refreshing.”
“It’s knowing that there’s community and support. That’s a really big thing — and making sure that our community knows that there are services out there for us,” Lun said. “Not just doom and gloom, based on what the media and those who are anti-trans [are saying.]”
“The conversation is very, ‘There’s nothing for you. There’s nothing.’ That’s not true … It’s very important for those who are immigrants and trans to know that they have a place and a group that will be of assistance to them.”
The new office is located near downtown San Francisco, close to City Hall, and its grand opening on Monday was attended by a host of public officials, like District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, director of the city’s Office of Transgender Initiatives, Honey Mahogany and representatives from the office of District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood and Mayor Daniel Lurie.
“[Rimi has] always brought more depth to our board,” said Suzanne Ford, executive director of San Francisco Pride, at Parivar’s Diwali debut. “We’ve been in this fight together for a long time.”
Rimi, who herself immigrated from India, emphasized that the center offers legal support for immigrants from any country — especially those who are in the gender minority and have had difficulty accessing culturally knowledgeable services.
A lack of translation services is a common challenge. But sometimes there is “the lawyer himself or herself or themselves having transphobia that’s inherent” that can prevent transgender immigrants from having their case “be presented powerfully and strongly for approvals.’
Parivar strives to fill those gaps by centering a legal network of pro or low-bono services — like immigration-focused firm Okan Law — that can assist trans immigrants in citizenship, green card and work permit cases.
“Literally two blocks from here, I was homeless for [3 to 4] months, and then I became stateless, and then I ended up leaving the country,” Rimi said. “I built myself up, and through legal immigration, I came back into the country.”
Rimi explained that her story proves that there is “a broad need for our transgender immigrants and asylees that is literally not met.”
The mission to center trans and gender-diverse immigrants especially resonated with J Jha, who was granted asylum in 2017. They said that San Francisco was their “city of refuge.”
“I didn’t come to America as a trans person. America allowed me to blossom into my full, authentic self, and realized this imagination can be brought to reality because I am safe here.”
Jha said it made them angry to see “any immigrant of any class or race being mistreated.”
The need for support is even greater, following the Trump administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement in the country, which has especially targeted undocumented individuals.
Among his actions are announcing exorbitant fees on H1-B visa holders, allowing data to be shared across agencies and bolstering the budget of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE arrests have sparked a wildfire of fear across the country, especially with circulating reports of families being torn apart, masked officers, potential due process violations and the detention of U.S. citizens.
“It is really important that while we advocate for immigrant rights, we also look at immigrant care,” Jha said. “What happens when the battle for legal status is going on? How do we nourish our folks?”
These are “hugely important” aspects to keep in mind for people who are “fighting for their life … with immigration, with the society and with their own self.”
For Rimi, Parivar is rooted in Indian and South Asian culture.
“You will see me in TL with my bindi, with my sari and all of that because I believe that’s how it can inspire others to be themselves,” Rimi said.
And she couldn’t think of a better way to open the space than during Diwali — the Festival of Lights observed by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists.
Earlier this month, California became the third state in the nation to officially recognize Diwali as a state holiday. The bill, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, would allow community colleges and public schools to close for the holiday. State employees can also take paid time off.
A resolution is also being presented to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to celebrate Diwali in the city.
“Diwali to me is togetherness,” Rimi said. “It is also devotion, rooted in connecting back to the feminine energy.”
“That is the energy that has helped us be ourselves.”
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