{{Short description|Indian transgender activit}} {{Infobox person | name = Sheethal Shyam | image = | caption = | birth_name = Shyam C. S. | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1982|9|3}} | birth_place = Thrissur, Kerala, India | occupation = Activist, writer, actor, public speaker | known_for = Transgender rights activism | awards = Kerala government's Trans Achieve Award. }}
'''Sheethal Shyam''' (born Shyam C. S., on September 3, 1982) is an Indian transgender activist, writer, actor, and public speaker from Kerala. In 2016, she received the Trans Achiever Award by the social justice department, Government of Kerala.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Joseph |first=Neethu |date=2019-03-09 |title=Trans Achievepeople Awardmust have tools to tell their own stories: Activists at Kochi Biennale |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/kerala/trans-people-must-have-tools-tell-their-own-stories-activists-kochi-biennale-98030 |access-date=2026-03-11 |website=The News Minute |language=en}}</ref>
== Early life and background == Sheethal Shyam was born as Shyam C. S. on September 3, 1982, in Thrissur, Kerala, India, into a middle class Roman Catholic family; her father was an auto-rickshaw driver and her mother a homemaker.<ref name="scroll">{{cite web |last=George |first=Anubha |title=Transgender and proud: Sheethal Shyam on her remarkable journey from activism to acting |url=https://scroll.in/reel/877847/transgender-and-proud-sheethal-shyam-on-her-remarkable-journey-from-activism-to-acting |website=Scroll.in |date=2018 |access-date=27 February 2026}}</ref><ref name="Marunadan">{{cite news |title=കഷ്ടകാലത്തിന്റെ കടുംനിറം മറന്നു ശീതൾ ശ്യാം മനുഷ്യരെ നന്മ പഠിപ്പിക്കാൻ ഇറങ്ങി: ഭിന്നലിംഗക്കാരെ അംഗീകരിക്കാൻ മലയാളികളെ പഠിപ്പിച്ച മലയാളി മറുനാടനോടു മനസുതുറക്കുന്നു {{!}} Interview with Sheethal Shyam |url=https://marunadanmalayalee.com/interview-with-sheethal-shyam-42744 |work=marunadanmalayalee.com |date=15 April 2016 |language=ml}}</ref>
She experienced gender dysphoria from an early age and faced discrimination and violence during her school years, which led her to discontinue formal education.<ref name="scroll" /> After dropping out of school, she worked at various places, including an aluminum company, a studio, and the construction industry, but faced discrimination everywhere for dressing as a woman, and decided to leave Thrissur and move to Bangalore.<ref name="Marunadan" />
After moving to Bengaluru in 2001, she came in contact with ''Sangama'', an LGBT rights group.<ref name="scroll" /> She later returned to Kerala and now lives with her partner Smintoj.<ref name="scroll" />
== Activism == Sheethal Shyam has been active in LGBTQIA+ and transgender rights movements in Kerala for more than two decades. She was a founding member of Queer Pride Keralam in 2009, a collective advocating equality and visibility for sexual and gender minorities.<ref name="wlf">{{cite web |title=Sheethal Shyam – Speaker Profile |url=https://wlfwayanad.com/speaker/sheethal-shyam/ |website=Wayanad Literature Festival |access-date=27 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Sheethal Shyam |url=https://english.mathrubhumi.com/mbifl-2018/speakers/sheethal-shyam-babcc050 |work=Mathrubhumi |date=23 January 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
In 2012, she served as secretary of the Sexual Minorities Forum Kerala (SMFK) and contributed to India's first transgender survey.<ref name="wlf" /> She has also been associated with the formulation and advocacy processes surrounding Kerala's transgender policy, one of the earliest state-level transgender welfare policies in India and also served as a member on the Kerala State Transgender Justice Board, the first transgender justice board formed in India.<ref name="wlf" />
She founded an organization called ''Voice'' in Thrissur to bring the issues of transgender communities to the attention of the general public.<ref name="wlf" /> In 2017, she founded ''Dhwaya'', an organisation promoting artistic opportunities and empowerment within transgender communities.<ref name="wlf" /> In 2018, she established ''Mazhavil Dwani'', described as Kerala's first transgender theatre troupe.<ref name="wlf" />
Sheethal served as a Councilor and later Manager of the Pehachan Project, a five-year project, aims to provide HIV prevention services for men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender and hijata communities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=KLF 2027 KLF {{!}} Kerala Lit Fest {{!}} Literature Festival {{!}} Literary Festival 2027 |url=https://keralaliteraturefestival.com/speakerview/535/sheetal-shyam |access-date=2026-03-11 |website=keralaliteraturefestival.com |publisher=Kerala Literature Festival}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2012-05-16 |title=Media workshop by Pehchan project |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2011/Sep/21/media-workshop-by-pehchan-project-293010.html |access-date=2026-03-11 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>
Sheetal was the first one to receive an IFFK transgender pass.<ref name="Manorama">{{cite news |title=Sheethal Shyam lauds IFFK accepting transgender as a third category |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/in-depth/iffk-2016-international-film-festival-of-kerala-thiruvananthapuram/interviews/sheethal-shyam-on-transgender-category.html |work=OnManorama |publisher=Malayala Manorama}}</ref> She was also the first to receive a transgender membership card from State Central Library established in 1829 in Kerala.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2016-11-16 |title=In a first, public library gives membership to transgender |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2016/Nov/15/in-a-first-public-library-gives-membership-to-transgender-1538976.html |access-date=2026-03-04 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>
Shyam frequently participates in literary festivals, academic forums, and cultural events across India, speaking on gender identity, representation, and social inclusion.<ref name="wlf" /><ref>{{cite news |title=All genders need space of their own, says Sheethal Shyam |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/all-genders-need-space-of-their-own-says-sheethal-shyam/article65353937.ece |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sheetal Shyam- Speaker in Kerala Architectural Festival KAF –2019{{!}} Keralaarchitecturalfestival.com |url=http://keralaarchitecturefestival.com/speakers_more.aspx?id=MjQ2 |website=keralaarchitecturefestival.com}}</ref>
== Cultural and media career == As a columnist, she wrote Kerala's first queer column in the Mathrubhumi Azhchappathippu.<ref name="wlf" />
She has acted in the films ''Ka Bodyscapes'' (2016), ''Aabhaasam'' (2017), ''Otta'' (2021), ''Vishudha Rathrikal'' (2021), ''STD XE 99 Batch'' (2023), and the short films ''Wedding'', ''Avalotoppam'', ''Color of Trance'', ''Chilar'', and ''Chalanam''.<ref name="wlf" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Manu |first1=Meera |title=Transcending barriers {{!}} Transcending barriers |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/viral-and-trending/110617/transcending-barriers.html |work=www.deccanchronicle.com |date=11 June 2017 |language=en}}</ref>
She participated as the guest of honor of the government at the 2016 International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) and also served as a delegate committee member at the 2021 IFFK.<ref name="wlf" />
In 2018, she formed the first transgender theatre group in Kerala called ''Mazhavil Dhvani'' and took the initiative to present the play ''Parayan Maranna Kathakal'' (meaning:Stories forgotten to tell) in various states of India.<ref name="wlf" /> In 2019, she was appointed as the Assistant Stage Manager at the ITFOK (International Theatre Festival Of Kerala) by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi.<ref name="wlf" />
== Awards and honors == Sheethal Shyam received many other awards including the Kerala government's Trans Achieve Award, Born to Win Award, Kudumbashree Vaibhav Award, Movie Street Award, Nizhalattam Award, and George Kunnappilly Award.<ref name="wlf" />
As an actress Sheetal Shyam won the best actress award at the street film festival 'Nizhalattam' organized by Manaviyyam in Thiruvananthapuram.<ref name="Vanitha">{{cite web |title=ട്രാൻസ്ജെൻഡർ സമൂഹത്തിന് അഭിമാനം; മികച്ച നടിയായി ശീതൾ ശ്യാം |url=https://www.vanitha.in/celluloid/movies/2017/12/09/transgender-sheethal-syam-got-best-actress-award-in-avalodoppam-film.html |website=Vanitha.in |publisher=Vanitha |language=ml}}</ref> She received the award for her performance in 'Avalkkoopam', directed by Kuku Babu.<ref name="Vanitha"/>
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shyam, Sheethal}} Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Artists from Kerala Category:LGBTQ activists Category:Indian transgender actresses Category:Activists from Kerala