Sruthi Kc

LGBTQ community and their education “True education must correspond to the surrounding circumstances or it is not a healthy growth.”-Gandhi. Every one of us is aware of the importance of education in life. Education starts from our family and continues throughout life. Same times there are plenty of reasons why the education is important for every individual. Education helps them to learn new things, to be bold with turmoil. Moreover, to find a good job and lead a respectable life in the society education is a major part. Therefore, we can say that, education is something that an individual can keep for a lifetime treasure. Acquiring education can affect a person’s life, one’s community, and one’s entire generation. Equality and non-discrimination are the fundamental principle of Indian Constitution. The right to education in Indian Constitution is a contemporaneous issue and both state and centre can legislate on the issue. In India, the constitutional provision for safeguarding the right to education contains Article 21-A explains that compulsory education for all the children between 6 to 14 years old. This article says that education is considered as a fundamental right for every child. The Right to Education (RTE) enacted on 4 August 2009. While there is discrimination happening against transgender community in India. They have no equality in many fields including education, job opportunities, and less facilities etc to live. They way society looks at a transgender schooling, getting in to a job, and the way people treat them is so terrifying and this will definitely make them feel aloof. As per the report of International Journal of Research in Economics and Social sciences (IJRESS) says, “India has attained a significant growth and development. Through this the literacy level, education, and health also improved. Still the society indicates intolerances against transgender community. What happening is that majority of transgender are uneducated and they are being repudiated from the society. Same time transgender are most uneducated or undereducated, become reluctant to continue schooling”. There are some challenges of transgender education like inclusion in schools, use of disrespectful names and pronouns, lack of access to appropriate restroom facilities, confidentiality, and lack of ideal personality. Ganga a transgender woman from Bangalore expresses that “I was insulted and ignored by the society during my studies. I have completed my PUC and then I joined for degree in Arts. While I am studying in a collage campus, even my teachers had a bad impression about me. My collage mates used to tease me a lot and I was totally devastated and I lost my control over my life because of the society’s attitude towards transgender community” she sighs. Her bad experiences taught her to be bold towards such stigmas that have been created by the society. Ganga used to go to college with her girl friends and roam around with them. One during college fest, Ganga danced in front of crowd. Instead of encouraging her, the crowd insulted her and told her to get out of the stage. Because of her bitter experiences made by the society, she dropped her degree and started a small vegetable departmental store with some other transgender people to survive. However, again the fate was different to her as customers don’t go to that shop to buy vegetables. That moment also created some turmoil. She opens up about customer’s mentality “customers don’t come to our shop, because they think if they come to us it will lead something sin to their personal life and they think they also become like us and that is something rarest”. She raises a question if the society is not ready to accept and the government is not providing enough knowledge to the society about us, then what right do the society and the people to blame us. Nethra fearlessly says, “I am a transgender woman and I am doing sex work and begging. I am not at all educated even primary class”. Nethra is from Bellari, Karnataka; her family ignored her. She left home when she was 15 and went to Mumbai. Because she used to face harassment many times from her relatives, neighbors around her home. She felt a lone and then she absconded from her place. She had some basic knowledge about Mumbai and their culture and attitude towards transgender community. Once she reached to Mumbai, she found a transgender community and with she stayed there for two days meanwhile shared her problems with them. She was so happy once she met her real family. Then she came back to Bellari and expressed her feeling before her family. Finally, her family allowed her to live with them as a transgender girl. She expresses an opinion to the government of India that, we are not in a safe zone, we are also human beings, and we are eligible to live our life safely. For that family has to support us first, government should take initiatives to enhance us. We have also the right to education. Make a good change and we are still hoping. We want to be known as human beings not chakkas, arvani”. She concludes with a smile. A ray of hope is required for them to live life with all respect from the society. Another story turns to a transgender woman Zereena. She is educated till 10th standard and during studies, she had faced some discrimination problems from her class mates and their parents. Their parents had created some scenes in the school and among teachers. She used to go to school like a girl, wear half skirt and blows, puts bindi on her forehead. Because of her dressing and make-up, people around her used to insult and ignore. They used to ask her why are you like this and they never let their friends, relatives, children to play with her. Finally, she decided to wear pants and shirt, same time people say why you are walking like a girl. The society used to call her chakka. Finally, she decided to quit her education. Even if the transgenders are qualified, recruiters are against providing job to them. So, most of the transgender women are sex workers and they beg. Most of them are facing serious issues like rape and abuse orally and physically. Mostly they are forced to leave Parental home if identified as a transgender. The society and the people do not behave or act normal in their presence or with them. After all this when we see them as a beggar or a sex worker, society blame them and consider them as an unwanted community and we associate them negatively and spread stigma to the next generation. If the society is willing to provide job opportunities, they do not need to beg or indulge in sex work or any anti social activity as accused for. The phase of the society has to be changed as soon as possible or we do not have right to blame them.