: They are used to those cruel, insulting comments in a city that is unsympathetic to them. Most of them shrug off the insults even as they weep inside. Lack of a decent education and the skill sets to fight back society’s blows pull them back from asserting their rights. Recognising this, the Kerala State Literacy Mission (KSLM) is gearing up to beckon the school dropouts among the transgender community in the district with an exclusive learning programme that will help them find a livelihood and stand up to injustice.
Community-based organisations working for the transgender people’s welfare will team up with the Literacy Mission’s new endeavour shortly and to carry out State-level surveys to find out the number of beneficiaries to be covered under the initiative.
A ₹4-crore project is under the active consideration of the State government which will redefine the lives of those transgenders who dropped their studies midway.
C.K. Nasar, Director of Malabar Cultural Forum (MCF) that works for the welfare of the transgender community, says the new higher education programme in the making will definitely give a new identity to the struggling group and equip them to fight better the social stigma. “We have around 252 transgender people attached to our organisation in Kozhikode district and at least 50 of them will be able to resume their studies under the new programme,” he says.
Zoya Nasar, District Coordinator of KSLM, says majority of the transgender people are those who wish to resume their studies in various fields and explore the available employment opportunities. “The certificates we issue them after the training programme are valid at all levels to fulfil their dreams. All the equivalency programmes up to Class XII will be made available to them free of cost to begin the process,” she adds.
Change of name
Sukanyeah, a 22-year-old transgender activist from Kozhikode, points out that most of her friends want to change their official names first. “We are really longing to have a course certificate that will bear our new name. The government departments concerned should sincerely come forward to support us for the cause,” she pleads.
Sukanyeah, who has been in the field of supporting transgender people for around eight years, also underscores the need to entrust the survey to approved government agencies only. “Many of the figures now available with the government are those given by the NGOs, which hardly represent the reality,” she laments.
Meanwhile, Manoj Sebastian, State Coordinator of KSLM’s Special Projects, says all arrangements are in place to complete the proposed survey with the support of dedicated community-based organisations. There around 4000 transgender people in Kerala, and all of them will have to be covered under the scheme, he adds.
