S. Tamilselvi, a 22-year-old transperson from Vellore, is set to become the country’s first third gender student to pursue a diploma programme in nursing.
On Monday, based on the recommendation of the State Human Rights Commission member D. Jayachandran, Tamilselvi, who was denied an admission on the ground that she is from the third gender for the past two academic years, was issued an allotment order by the Secretary of the Selection Committee administering nursing admissions.
Tamilselvi will now join Government Vellore Medical College, the first step in her dream of becoming a nurse.
“She has been handed over the allotment order on the condition that it would be subjected to the judgment of the Madras High Court on a petition filed by her. She is the first transperson to be admitted into a nursing programme in the State. We are hoping this would encourage more transpersons to apply,” said Director of Medical Education A. Edwin Joe.
However, Tamilselvi’s experience till she was allotted a seat in nursing diploma programme has not been easy.
From pillar to post
“There has not been a government department to which I hadn’t gone for getting admissions. I was admitted to a private nursing college earlier but they sent me a rejection order after finding that third gender was not eligible to apply,” Tamilselvi told The Hindu .
Though there have been instances in the past in Tamil Nadu when transpersons joined the police force and pursued law, it is still a great challenge for a transperson to become what they want to, said Tamilselvi. “It has been my childhood dream to become a nurse, but was it my fault to be a transperson? Whether officials are not aware of the policy decision of the government or the lack of willingness, but we are still fighting for our rights!” she said.
Tamilselvi’s admission is under Women (MBC) category, since the Social Welfare Department had specified transpersons as eligible only under the mentioned category, pointed out Mr. Joe.
