The ad that's gone viral because it sticks up for transgender rights in India
- Published
An advert which features a transgender woman and her adopted daughter in India has gone viral, with over nine million YouTube views.
The ad by tells the true story of an orphan who was adopted by Gauri Sawant, who's transgender.
Gauri has been campaigning for transgender rights for the past 16 years in India.
The commercial sees her adopted daughter Gayatri wanting to become a lawyer to also fight for trans rights.
Gauri's motto was to provide a space of freedom to all transgender people and men who have sex with men (MSMs) in Mumbai.
16 years on, with a team of 150 workers, Gauri promotes safe sex and provides counselling to transgender people from the city's suburbs.
Following a petition by Gauri, the supreme court began recognising transgender people as a third gender in 2013.
In the advert, teenager Gayatri looks back on her life and tells us how she was adopted by Gauri after her birth mother was taken away in an ambulance.
Throughout the ad, we catch glimpses of Gauri but she is only fully revealed when Gayatri turns to her and says, "this is my mom. Isn't she lovely?"
Speaking to , Gauri says "'mother' could be transgender, 'mother' could be a woman, 'mother' could be gay, 'mother' could be lesbian.
"Do not put a label on the love of 'mother'."
"I want to tell people to look at us as a human being," Gauri says.
"God has made you, male or female, and that same god has made me a trans and I am happy with who I am."
A spokesman for Vicks' parent company, Procter and Gamble, said they hope to highlight "the importance of care beyond just the traditional perception of family."
Shashi Tharoor, a politician who was at the forefront of a now rejected bill to decriminalise gay sex, tweeted his support:
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But actress and transgender rights activist Kalki Subramaniam told she has mixed views.
She questions the benefit the ad will have on transgender communities, saying it "sensationalises" the issue.
"This is a trend in India. People are using transgender people because it gets a lot of attention but the community is still begging and doing sex work.
"What are they giving back to the community?" she asked.
The supreme court ruling Gauri helped to enforce in India has allowed transgender people equal access to education, health care and employment, as well as protection from discrimination.
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