Since India legally recognised the third gender in 2014, a series of legal, social and cultural steps forward have been seen since for the transgender community. Last year, we saw the recruitment of its first transgender police officer, as well as the first transgender government school principal being appointed. Still, amidst these wins, social stigma surrounds the transgender community in housing societies, job opportunities, and other arenas vital for daily life.

Pink Dot, a Singapore-based organisation working towards the Freedom to Love regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity, strives for a more inclusive social climate through awareness. In their efforts to campaign for sexual freedom and LGBT rights, their 2016 annual rally features three videos that ‘Celebrate Everyday Heroes’ from diverse backgrounds and different walks of life, as they put it, “ [to] demonstrate how everyone and anyone can be an everyday hero to others through acts of love and understanding both big and small.”

Rose, a 78-year-old transwoman from India who migrated to Singapore, talks about her life, struggles and battle with discrimination in one of Pink Dot’s films, bringing into focus the human aspect of transgender rights.

Watch Pink Dot 2016: Our Heroes - Rose & June below.