From washing utensils at a Dhaba To Winning Miss Universe Diversity 2020- ‘Naaz Joshi’ has carved her destiny!

Janmat Samachar Special Interview: Naaz Joshi is India’s 1st transgender international beauty queen, a trans rights activist, and a motivational speaker. Joshi won the Miss World Diversity beauty pageant three times in a row. She is also India’s first transgender model.

Born into a middle-class family in 1984, Naaz Joshi had to face discrimination from the family early in the life who renounced her being different from others and sent them to Mumbai under peer pressure at the age of seven to live with her uncle and cousins. With a huge family and financially weakened, she had to take up the job of cleaning utensils at a nearby Dhaba while managing education simultaneously. It went on until the age of 11 when she was raped by her cousin’s brother.

• Education and career of Miss Naaz Joshi

With an incredible interest in the fashion niche, Naaz studied fashion technology from NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology) Delhi and later completed MBA in marketing, however, did not find an acceptable job with a stable working environment anywhere and then had to take up a job in a massage parlor in Delhi. Naaz Joshi underwent the Gender Reassignment Surgery (GRS) in 2013 and took up modeling as a career.
Naaz then started directing beauty pageants for trans women, and it was in 2017 that she exemplified the country for the competition and won it, following which her parents also called up.

1) Miss Naaz Joshi, do you feel destined enough to have reached the highest pinnacle of success in your life?

Answer – I feel that my hard work and determination paved the way for what I am today, Destiny had a small role in shaping my dreams but above all, it was my burning desire and dreams which made me pursue my passion for Film and Beauty Industry.

2) After such incessant struggles in your life, what are your learnings from them?

Answer – We live in such a harsh world where to date no recognition has been given to trans women, either people see them as sex workers, beggars, or bar dancers. Having witnessed all the unprecedented access to life and being raised from this background made me acknowledged how to tackle things more prudently and passionately. I have organized several beauty and fashion platforms for women to let them enhance their dreams come out and additionally I have relentlessly provided various underprivileged kids with learning kits under my Naaz Foundation.


3) Tell us a bit about various social causes you are supporting and volunteering for!

Answer – Initially, I have associated myself with the Naaz Foundation which caters to the need of underprivileged children. There are so many slum areas in Delhi where children don’t have basic needs imagine any electricity, no water supply, no education. I am trying my level best to give these kids a better and a hopeful future. Also, I will urge other people to sponsor their education as these kids are the future of our country, If they are empowered then our country will be empowered.

4) Do you have any future political ambitions with whom you would like to associate yourself with!

Answer – At this stage of my life, I don’t plan to enter politics since I am equipped with my beauty pageants and Social work. I wonder what the government is doing after seeing so many crises in this country, Roads are in pathetic conditions, after paying all the GST, taxes, etc we citizens are not getting the necessities. I hope these conditions improve. Maybe, at a later stage, I will plan of entering Indian Politics.


5) What would be your message to the youth of the country who considers you as an inspiration for your extraordinary achievements.

Answer – “God has not made everyone perfect, we all have some basic imperfections inside us, we should appreciate and love them”. Also, I would say it’s better to become deaf to people who keep on ranting and taunting you! It’s better to ignore pessimistic people and hopefully one day they will be astonished to see your success as it happened in my case. If you have a dream then follow it, I promise you will achieve it in your life.

Team Janmat Samachar is doing a brilliant job by covering the life stories of many Trans women like me and giving us a platform to voice our opinions and our life struggles publicly, I convey my best regards to the whole Team of Janmat Samachar for their future efforts.


6) Tell us a bit about your future endeavors, which beauty pageants you are planning for 2021?

Answer – I aspire of working with ALT Balaji Productions for their upcoming films as well as web series. I would also love to be in Big Boss on Colours Viacom 18. I completely love and adore Ekta Kapoor. She represents real-life projections on cinema in a truly amazing and outstanding way. I would love to land myself in many prominent web series and films. Additionally, I am gearing up for my next beauty pageants in Dubai to be held in May 2021.

-This interview is being covered by Ms. Bhavna Singh