Fridae

This week we put the spotlight on Philippines Congresswoman Risa Hontiveros – the only representative from the straight community on this list – who is currently in the race for a Senate seat in the General Elections on May 10, and compatriot Sass Sasot, a long-time transgender activist who had recently addressed the United Nations on the subject of human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but we are sure that this handful of extraordinary individuals will encourage and inspire you. If you know of anyone who you think is doing an amazing job for the greater good – whether they be activists or artists, entrepreneurs or entertainers, send us their details at editor@fridae.com.

Sass Sasot 

After a suicide attempt in December 2000, Sass Sasot – who turns 28 this month – found the support and conviction to establish the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) in 2002. 

Think of a world that never saw the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Ghandi or Anita Roddick and it becomes clear that our civil society movements would be nowhere without charismatic community leaders who can inspire people and mobilise to affect change. The transgender community has this type of leader in Sass Sasot.

After a turbulent family life and school career, a chain of events and supportive friends, coupled with the fierce conviction forged from years of witnessing stigma and discrimination everyday, led Sasot who was then just 20 to found the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) in 2002. 

In 2003 Sasot was engaged as a research assistant by Transgender Asia Research Centre (TARC) to investigate the experience of male-to-female transgender people in the Philippines, an experience that broadened her insight into the psyche of her community. Since then she has joined the ranks to become one of new generation of activists struggling for the recognition of transgender rights. 

Sasot’s presence and ability to articulate has made her a highly sought after moderator and facilitator. She has written column for various LGBT media outlets and spoken in many global human right forums, most recently addressing the United Nations on the International Day of Human Rights December 2009. 

It is no coincidence that with young, vibrant spokespeople like Sasot, many other in the community are mustering the courage to speak up and make their voices heard. January this year saw the emergence of the first ever Asia-Pacific Transgender Network linking together national collectives within the region. Progress like this will result in more transgender people taking an active role in self-determination and campaigning for dignity and better quality of life for all. 

æ: Why do you do this work?

Being a transgender rights activist is not "work" for me but a calling that I dared answer in December 2000 after I had attempted suicide. At that time, I experienced some sort of internal alchemy: My personal hopelessness turned into social involvement.

æ: How do you think you can make positive change happen in 2010?

Having been a transgender activist for nine years now, I feel that one of my major contributions to the movement lies in my ability to deliver heartfelt speeches and write moving letters that help elucidate this struggle.

I've realised this after the speech I delivered at the UN Headquarters in New York on December 10, 2009. I hope to have speaking engagements in different schools, organisations, and universities in the Philippines. 

My experience has thought me that activists, just like everyone else, should remind themselves that they can't be everything. 

They should embrace the ability that they feel most at home with, nurture it. We should let ourselves be the channel through which the unique creative impulse of their spirit could speak. 

æ: What is your message to people who stand in your way?

"In the long run," an economist once said, "we will all be dead." Life is too short to spend it on making other people's lives miserable.

I understand that it's cunning and perhaps quite pleasurable to make other people unhappy and to assert our own superiority over them, but it's wise to get intimately and deeply acquainted with the nobility of our souls, so we can go on reclaiming the lucidity of our hearts. 

Sass Sasot can be contacted via STRAP’s Facebook page. 

With contributions from Laurindo Garcia, Patty Tumang and Sylvia Tan.