“Transgenders too have talents. We only need a proper platform to exhibit them,” said transgender activist Bharathi Kannamma while addressing students at Lady Doak College here on Friday.
Delivering a special address on ‘The role of youth in the welfare of transgender community’, Ms. Kannamma said, “Several transwomen and transmen suffer as their families do not accept them, and they are denied proper education. Most of them are not even able to complete schooling and, therefore, are not fit for employment.”
The students should create awareness among the public in this regard so that the transgenders gain acceptance in society, she urged.
According to Ms. Kannamma, the recent Supreme Court judgment recognising transgender as the “third gender” and various schemes of the government helped them gain social acceptance. However, the role of younger generation was pivotal for them to gain full acceptance, she noted.
A student of third-year Sociology and Psychology major, C.S. Thirumagal, said the programme gave the students a different perspective of the transgenders.
“We did not know about the emotions, and psychological and physical changes they went through. There were incidents where they were teased by even women,” she noted.
P. Sivaranjani, a third-year History student, said, “Though I have come across transgenders on many occasions, this is the first time that I have interacted with a transwoman.”
“I have always felt bad whenever they were teased in public,” she said, and vowed to support transgenders in the future.
“Recognition by students is important for the transgender community to obtain acceptance in society. This is the second time that we have invited a transwoman to deliver a special address in the college,” said S.K. Suja, a lecturer of the Chemistry department.
