Photos show casting call for India's 1st transgender modeling agency

Five models from a field of about 70 auditioned for a trans-gendermodeling agencyin New Delhi, organized by activist Rudrani Chettri.

Chettri has been championing LGBT rights for about a decade.

She runsthe Mitr Trust charity that provides support to people shunned by their families and, in many cases, who have beenforced into the sex trade.

Auditions were the first step towards launching a national campaign.

To cover costs,Chettri has set up a crowdfunding pageon which she explains her plan to boost morale in the transgender community by "hopefully" landing a spread in a top Indian fashion magazine.

Aspiring models got face time with a professional stylist.

Stylist Rishi Raj, who along with Chettri is featured in an as-yet unreleaseddocumentary,was on hand for the auditions, as wasa professional photographer.

Caitlyn Jenneris opening doors, Raj hopes.

Raj told the newspaper India Today that Jenneris a role model for aspiringmodels in the country and that anall-transagency is a logical nextstep towards mainstream acceptance. The fashion industry has ahistory of "breaking boundaries and creating trends," Raj said.

Indian passports and voter cards offer three gender options.

In 2014, India joined a short list of countries torecognizetransgenderas an official third gender, granting the country's large "hijra"population certain constitutional rights.