A crisis of inclusivity: Spare a thought for transgender students
India’s democracy is famed globally not just for its size, but for its diversity. There are sections of people, however, who suffer the effects of centuries-old practices that deny them their right to equality. One such community at the receiving end comprises individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+.
While doing our internship at Basera Samajik Sansthan and living with transgender people for 15 days, we observed much variation in how they chose to describe themselves. A transgender woman, someone assigned the gender ‘male’ at birth who identifies as female, might describe herself as a “transwoman", “male-to-female" or simply “female," and vice versa. Some do not identify as either male or female, opting to go beyond the gender binary.
In India, transgenderism is well known as a sub-culture. Yet, mainstream awareness about the community is very low, which worsens their social oppression. A transwoman working for a global lifestyle brand recounts how co-workers would often ridiculed her appearance.
Customers would also pass snide remarks and avoid her billing counter. She was deeply disheartened, she says. In another instance, a transgender individual secured a job at a renowned pathology lab.
On her first day, the organization invited the media to celebrate its recruit and showcase its commitment to diversity and inclusion. It was good news for all transgenders in need of regular jobs. However, after seven months, the company asked her to leave, citing an alleged contractual term that was never documented.
Unlike the fanfare on her first day, her dismissal got no media attention. Diversity for the lab was only performative, she says, aimed at brownie points instead of genuine inclusion. This incident highlights the
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