Understanding the different forms of genders and sexualities

On Friday, I was at KJ Somaiya College of Engineering in Mumbai, chief guesting an event for the LGBTQIA+ community along with my friend Aaditya Joshi, PhD student from IIT who also happens to be an alum of the institute. The college has a wing called Parvaah that is a social initiative of the college students.

The event began with a workshop by Humsafar Trust where activists Koninika Roy and Tinesh Chopade helped people understand the different forms of genders and sexualities. They tried their best to illicit a response to their presentation but the students didn't have any questions to ask. Maybe they were dumbfounded and it was too much information in a single day. That's when Urmi Jadhav from the Humsafar Trust, who identifies herself as a hijra decided to shake the audience.

She, in her tadaktha, bhadakta style asked the students, "kyaa main nazar nahi aa rahi hu? Am I invisible? If I was visible to you, toh you would definitely have questions for me." She paused and continued, "That's the problem with society. They don't ask. They assume and they judge."

A bombardment of questions followed after her "audience ko hilla diyaa" act. She was asked by one of the students if she faces any discrimination in a city like Mumbai. Urmi quickly pointed out that she was stopped at the entrance of the institute and questioned, whereas her colleagues, Koninika and Tinesh were spared the scrutiny and suspicion. She highlighted how housing was an issue and how she was asked to vacate her house overnight by her landlord who turned out to be a transphobe.

All through the discussion, Dr Shubha Pandit, the principal of the institute was sitting in the front row and listening attentively to the presentation. When it was her turn to speak, she spoke eloquently about how she wanted her institute to be a discrimination free place and how she would love to have people accepted for who they are. She also spoke about suicides and the need to ensure that students don't feel alienated in any way in college.

Though people like her in top management should be a norm in every institute, I should admit that she is a rare gem. We need to preserve people like her who are a role model to the whole world. The only other institute that I know of, where the top management has openly come out in support is the Shahani Group (Thadomal Shahani institutes). Akhil Shahani, the Managing Director, took to the stage at the Mumbai pride parade last Saturday to stress that their institutes believe in inclusive education and that ethos needs to trickle down from the top. He later marched with his institute banner along with groups of super enthusiastic students from the college of media and communication.

We need more institutes that stand against discrimination. I urge the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) to grant this institute an extra plus for proactive measures for inclusivity and suicide prevention.
Attah! baaju mein vattak… make way.

Somaiyya ke students ko aage jaane de.
 

Activist Harish Iyer shares his entertaining adventure through Mumbai’s landscape. Write to sexualitydna@gmail.com to tell us how you feel about this column.