DU Create transgender Resource centre

Intolerance of state and society towards India’s transgender people continues till date . The nature or discrimination ranges from impediments in accessing , yo education , employment and health , care , to harassment , extortion , arbitrary arrest and sexual violence . This forces many to drop out of schools and universities and pushes them in a vicious livelihood .
In such a society where the transgender are not much encouraged by the people, the Delhi University’s Department of Adult Continuing Education and Extension has created a separate center as well as an online platform- ‘Transgender Resource Centre’ for them to seek moral support, get help and share their problems and difficulties faced on daily basis.

Around 400 to 500 transgender are registered in the group to seek help and share their problems. There is a certain way of management where The transgender center which is located in Delhi University’s Art Faculty has a complaint register, a mobile help-line number and a professor who counsels and solve the queries put by the transgender persons . The transgender centre is not just a mere showcasing strategy but as many as 10-15 queries received and solved on daily basis on this platform.
Even the minutest queries of every transgender student are well catered , the admission forms in DU’s regular college will start, when I will get the admit card for the upcoming examination? students asked.

Creating a path of change within the arena of education and social acceptance amongst the students who would gradually become assets to society a quintessential plea was made by a transgender saying ‘I request you to provide a chance to the transgender students who have wonderful skills such mehendi art, make-up, tattoo and painting and drawing, hand-made crafts.

If you provide a chance by helping to provide a stall during the festival seasons, we can earn our livelihood with respect”.

Though Sarvodya Prathmik Vidyalaya provides education from 6th to 12th grade but the inevitable reality is that transgender students are bullied and insulted but the fellow students as well as the teachers. Thus, I request you to provide some counseling programme to the teachers as well the parents of the transgenders and others as everyone has the right to live a peaceful life with respect and dignity,” reads the complaint register kept in the ‘Transgender Resource Center’.

Leading the path , professor Rajesh who is the brain behind this center says that the aim is to provide good education a spine is needed to support them.
“The idea raised when our team witnessed that there is committee and center for everyone be it North-east students or physically disabled and minority community , making it all the more vulnerable “.
Thus, we thought that a center should also be created for transgender community,” said Rajesh, Professor at Department of Adult Continuing Education and Extension.

Narrating a painful incident a transgender student expressed to his relief that “I was expelled from the society, bullied by school mates because of which I did not took admission in the high school as I was fed up with the daily harassment, but this center is giving strength and confident to the people like me to study and work, earn a good livelihood,” says Ram, a transgender student studying in School of Open Learning.

Prof Rajesh further averred that the main aim is to take the resource center in school level to inculcate the gender sensitization in the early and learning age and enkindle social acceptance amongst students and end extortion and harassment.
A huge contrinition is accredited to the centre that has provided around 25-30 activities to uplift and morally support the transgender persons and also many research scholars are associated with the group.
“The center was started in December 2017 and after the completion of two years, extending this phenomenal move they are approaching the NCERT and Department of Education to set up such committee at schools levels.
Amrita Sarkar , Senior Programme Officer —Gender and Sexuality exclaimed with much relief that ” It is good that a platform is created for the transgender persons to share their feeling and seek help. But the Government has to take steps to fulfill the lacking infrastructures for the third gender like separate washrooms in public, school and college as well scholarship programs should also be started to motivate them,”
This spark of change to empower the underprivileged transgenders is imperitive to present status quo where there is a dire need to not just protect but empower transgender to enkindle societal acceptance through providing access to resources like education .