Emblazoning gender equality, Miss TransQueen India pageant announced Shaine Soni as the winner of Miss TransQueen India 2020 through a coronation ceremony in the capital today. It is the fourth celebrated year of the pageant where organisers are deeply committed on breaking inhibitions, normalize life, fight for dignity, and equal opportunities for LGBTQAI+ community. The endeavor is to establish a more inclusive way of accepting all individual along with their life choices without discrimination of any kind. As Miss TransQueen India 2020, Shaine would be representing India at Miss International Queen in Thailand early next year.
Shaine Soni is a renowned name in the fashion industry herself but until now her being a transwoman was not out in the open. She bravely took the decision to be a part of this pageant and share with everyone who she really is. Not many people as successful as Shaine Soni would dare to take such a chance that could dent their image forever but Shaine is all geared up for standing up as who she really is and working towards the upliftment of other transwomen in the country.
On being crowned as Miss TransQueen India 2020, Ms Shaine Soni said “This crown is not just a recognition of who I am but a promise that I will continue to put in my heart and soul in normalizing the entire conversation around the LGBTQIA+ community and make it more acceptable. I aim to work towards pushing the proposal of including the ‘study about the transgender community’ in school curriculum so that by the time they grow up they don’t look down upon them, rather accept them as a part of their circle.”
Some of the key dignitaries who graced the occasion included Mr Vinay Choudhary, BJP Spokesperson, Delhi (Youth); Mr Visashwar Shukla, RSS; and Ms Ruhi Ganguly, Founder and CEO, Q&A. For the pageant, Shaine was styled by Stylist Himanshu Kuwar Pithauria, and Makeup and Hair done by Ankur Chikara. The host for the pageant was Gourab Moidas. Mr Benedict Lawrence from Aurora was one of the key panelists for the pageant.
Shaine Soni is a model, Travel blogger, an influencer, winner of reality show and now Miss Trans Queen India 2020. Shaine fulfilled dreams for models by styling and training them. She is one of the most popular Stylists who have styled many renowned Bollywood celebrities like Jimmy Shergill, Ranbir Kapoor and many more. She is young, passionate and most important is she is extremely creative when it comes to fashion and styling.
Talking about the event, Reena Rai, Founder and CEO of Miss Trans Queen India said “Every year we choose one queen out of all the remarkable talented and beautiful contestants we get on Miss Trans Queen India Pageant. This year too we had hoped to organize our show with the same thrill and chill but due to the coronavirus outbreak in the whole world, we had to drop off all the important errands and adapt social distancing and sanitization. We could not have different participants from different parts of the country but we had that one queen of all the queens who was herself training and mentoring the Winner Queens of Miss Trans Queen India – Shaine Soni.”
Shaine Soni is an absolutely well known name in the fashion industry who has worked for many concerts, events, and fashion shows where she has styled thousands of models and choreographed many pageants and shows until now. She has been one of the show directors for Miss Trans Queen India continuously for three years and mentored all the participants, she later mentored the winners of Miss Trans Queen India such as Nitasha Biswas, Veena Sendre and Nithu R S who further represented India at Miss International Queen in Thailand.
It is a 3-day event consisting of exciting rounds for Talent, State Costume, Glam Gown along with constructive grooming sessions by well-known professional mentors from the industry such as Ms Rita Gangwani, Mr Akkash K. Aggarwaal, Ms Shaine Soni, Dr. Varun Katyal, Ms Amruta Soni and some insightful political discussions on What are your rights as a Trans Person in India, How we can implement the lives of Trans Community, How to be a representative and a spokesperson of the community, etc.
A) is the media partnerfor the event. The founder and CEO, Ruhi Ganguly has been a major support for Reena Rai. Other sponsors and partners includes:
Connaught Clubhouse – Venue Partner
Aurora Skincare – Beauty and Skin partner; sponsoring one lakh fifty thousand worth Alge treatment voucher
Seabuck – Gift partner
About Miss TransQueen India (MTQI):
Miss Trans Queen India is the first-ever Pageant in India that has been curated particularly for Trans Women. Grievously Beauty Pageants in our country are Trans-Exclusive; it does not include trans-women in their selection criteria. This shows the ostracism and prejudices Trans women are still facing in the mainstream industry. Our main motto is INCLUSIVITY, to fight the Stereotypical Beauty Standards and Include Trans Women of every height, complexion, hair and size. Our show consists of constructive grooming sessions by well-known professional mentors from the industry such as Ms Rita Gangwani, Mx Akkash K. Aggarwaal, Ms Shaine Soni, Dr. Varun Katyal, Ms Amruta Soni along with insightful political discussions on What are your rights as a Trans Person in India, How we can implement the lives of Trans Community, How to be a representative and a spokesperson of the community, etc.
Miss Trans Queen India is a platform to raise the scope of trans visibility and acceptance in the Fashion & Beauty Industry. The format of the MTQI Pageant is highly enthusiastic and full of exciting rounds of Talent, State Costume, Glam Gown and many more.
The winner of Miss Trans Queen India further goes on the International Platform: Miss International Queen in Thailand to represent our Country.
This pageant has been solely dependent on the funds and donations received on Deepa Ardnareshwar Empowerment Foundation (DAEF); An NGO to improve the lives of the Trans & Queer community of India. DAEE along with MTQI is making relentless efforts for the LGBTQAI+ community and promoting the idea of beauty with purpose. For the trans community that has been hit by the lockdown, the organizing teams distributed rations kits through their ‘queens’ who were apart of this pageant with a cause.
About DAEF:
Deepa Ardnareshwar Empowerment Foundation is focused on Identifying the hurdles and hardships Trans & LGBQIA+ Community confronts on a regular base, and making efforts and taking actions to eradicate all those obstacles that immobilize the Queer Community to reach heights in their own respective life.
About Reena Rai:
A Cisgender, Heterosexual Woman Reena Rai is a Mother, a Wife, a Daughter, a Friend, and an Ally. Reena Rai, with the support of her husband Manoj Kumar Rai, founded Miss Trans Queen India back in 2016, with zero funds, sponsorship and media partners. Her biggest motivation behind driving her into creating the biggest Trans-Beauty Pageant in India was Vippy: A Young & Beautiful Transwoman.
Today she’s a Gender and LGBTQIA+ Activist, TedxSpeaker, Entrepreneur and a consistent fighter for the cause of Social Injustice. She is the CEO & Founder of Miss Trans Queen India & Deepa Ardnarehwar Empowerment Foundation. Her accolades include Naari Chetna Puruskaar, Red Festival Award, Gurugram Achievers Award, Haryana Garima Awards, and many more that have acknowledged the effort she has made for the betterment of Trans-Lives.
