Thiruvananthapuram: The Sree Chitra Home for Destitute and Infirm here has no room for lesbians. Therefore, it ousted Shilpa, an inmate, alleging that she had lesbian tendencies. The incident happened on June 6, but it came to light after transgender activist Syama S. Prabha took up the issue recently. Shilpa, who is in her twenties, is from a financially backward family belonging to a village near Palode and has been going from pillar to post to get back into the Sree Chitra home since then, but in vain. Shilpa was pursuing a three-month short-term course after completing the ITI.
“At present, I have to travel all the way from my home to pursue my education in the city. Though the administration had told me that I was being expelled for my lesbian tendencies, officially they said the reason was indiscipline,” said Shilpa.
Syama S. Prabha said that initially they had submitted a complaint to the social welfare department. However, they pointed out that the Sree Chitra Home was under the district administration. Therefore, Shilpa submitted a complaint to the district administration. However, they remained apathetic to her complaint, probably due to the intervention of the authorities of Sree Chitra Home, Prabha said.
Following this, Shilpa complained to the Thiruvananthapuram District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and the Kerala State Youth Commission. Though the DLSA took up the case, the Sree Chitra Home people failed to appear whenever the case come up for consideration. This was part of a deliberate attempt to prolong the proceedings, Prabha said.
