Santhi Soundarajan, Chairperson, Srishti Madurai (She/Her)
Santhi Soundarajan is an Indian track and field athlete. She is the winner of 12 international medals for India and around 50 medals for her home state of Tamil Nadu. Santhi Soundarajan is the first Tamil woman to win a medal at the Asian Games. She competes in middle distance track events. She was stripped of a silver medal won at the 2006 Asian Games after failing a sex verification test which disputed her eligibility to participate in the women’s competition. Since then, Santhi has been a strong voice of support for female athletes who have faced discrimination due to sex verification tests.
________, Executive Director, Srishti Madurai (He/Him)
Profile
Gopi Shankar Madurai, Coordinator, India Intersex Forum (Ze/They)
Gopi Shankar Madurai (ze/they) is an Indian Dharmic indigenist, equal rights activist, author and public speaker. Gopi is the founder of Srishti Madurai LGBTQIA+ Student Volunteer Movement. Ze is the Intersex Representative (Elected) and Executive Board Member of ILGA Asia. Gopi is one of the core committee members of Intersex Asia; it is the Asia’s first collective forum for Intersex Individuals and organizations. Gopi is the first openly intersex and genderqueer person to contest Indian State Legislative Assembly elections from Madurai North Constituency. Gopi wrote Maraikkappatta Pakkangal the first book on LGBTQIA+ Gender-Variant identities in Tamil language. Gopi’s work inspired the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) to direct the Government of Tamil Nadu to order a ban on sex selective surgeries on intersex children.
Hayathi, Coordinator, NNIT Forum (She/Her)
Hayathi coordinates the activities at National Non-Binary, Intersex and Transgender Forum (NNIT Forum). She has been actively involved with Srishti Madurai since 2017. She has participated in several training programs on UN mechanism and has been representing Srishti Madurai at several national and international forums. She is passionate about promotion of inclusion and diversity in workplaces for last five years. Hayathi completed undergraduate studies in Computer Science and technology. She also holds a diploma in Airport management and customer care. Hayathi is an IT Analyst by profession and a photographer by passion. She is the first transitioned women to be part of banking sector. She likes photography, cycling, hiking and travelling.
Iniyan Ellalan, Coordinator, M.C. Raja Youth Movement (He/Him)
Iniyan Ellalan is the Coordinator of M.C. Raja Youth Movement. He completed his undergraduate degree in commerce from American College, Madurai. Later, he attended Loyola College, Chennai where he completed Master’s degree in Social Work. He has been engaged in several community organizing activities with most marginalized sections of the Scheduled Caste communities and tribal groups in rural parts of Tamil Nadu. In addition to leading the M.C. Raja Youth Movement, Iniyan also heads the Kannagi Study Circle which promotes study of Tamil literature and philosophy.
Srishti Madurai 