Transgender community applauds column' entry in college and work applications

Thiruvananthapuram: Transgender persons and activists welcome Kerala State Youth Commission’s order which says that there should be a column for male, female and transgenders in college and work applications. The Commission had asked the government to make it compulsory for every employer – be it in government, public or private sector – to include a column for transgender persons. It had also asked universities to include such a column in their application forms. Zara Sheikha, a transgender person who is an active member of Queerythm (a city-based group), lauds the move. “Most people, even some educated academicians, are not fully aware of who a transgender person is. The transgender community continues to face discrimination, and is forced to move outside Kerala. A friend of mine, despite having an M. Ed, has not got a job. The order will be an opportunity for transgender persons to introduce themselves to others, as an equal, a human being,” she says.

Academician J. Devika calls the move excellent. The Research Unit for Local Self Government at Centre for Development Studies, where Devika is a faculty, had drawn up a list of suggestions to ensure transgender-friendly local self governments. One of the suggestions was to include the TG column in government applications. The Commission’s chairperson Chintha Jerome says that transgender activists like Sheetal Shyam have been ringing her up to say how delighted they were. “Some private colleges like Devagiri College have already included a column for male, female and transgender people to declare their gender. If at all a transgender person brought to our notice about places which fail to comply with the order, we will certainly take it up. We hope that the order prompts all universities as well as employers to introduce a column,” she says.