I had a very religious upbringing. I went to Sunday school, attended Mass and was an altar server. Although there was no acceptance, my parents pushed me to be religious. I think that stemmed from a belief [they had] that God would make things right, that doing God’s work would help a child like me become ‘normal’ or at least stay away from a ‘sinful’ life,” Daniella Mendonca, who is intersex (person born with a combination of male and female biological traits and sexual organs), tells mid-day. Born into a Roman Catholic family in Mumbai that followed everyday practices of saying the evening Rosary, Mendonca struggled to find approval. “I realised that there was truth to the saying that religion and science cannot go hand-in-hand. They just couldn’t understand what to do with a child like me.”

She was sent to Sacred Heart Boys’ High School in Santacruz and recalls that her feminine nature made her susceptible to abuse. “They knew that I was different. So, molestation was easy. Seniors would take down my pants. Using the washroom was difficult. Even my teachers used to make fun of me. It’s this that’s responsible for bringing suicidal thoughts at a very young age.” At home too, Mendonca was often hit by her father who, she says, didn’t accept her because she did not fit into the male-female binary. This forced her to ultimately leave home at the age of nine. As her father was the sole breadwinner, her mother, though supportive, could offer little by way of help at the time.