The transgender rights activist and Hindi actor Laxmi Narayan Tripathi speaks about the challenges facing members of India’s hijra community, many of whom have been victimised or forced into begging or sex work. Laxmi’s fame has provided a useful platform in the battle to achieve equality, dignity and inclusion for India’s third gender. She is the founder of the sexual minorities rights organisation Astitva, and in 2008 became the first transgender person to represent Asia-Pacific at the UN