In a significant development, University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Tuesday, 27 February, said it would frame a transgender policy for the next academic year in consultation with all the stakeholders.
The move came as a result of protests by the student community after the clothes of two transgender students were burnt by unknown persons – in an alleged act of hate crime – earlier this week.
"It was an act of ragging, hate crime, and punishable under the SC-ST Atrocities Act," Hritik Laxman Lalan, a Dalit transgender student at UoH, alleged to The Quint.
The university, in a circular released by the Office of the Registrar on Tuesday, 27 February, stated: "The Transgender Committee has been entrusted to frame the Transgender Policy by 31st May 2024 so as to implement it as part of the Prospectus for the next Academic Year (2024-25). Besides, the students can report any matter to the Dean, Students' Welfare, directly."
Once formulated, UoH will become another central university in India – apart from Delhi University – to have a transgender policy.
What Happened?
On the morning of Sunday, 25 February, Lalan, who pursues a Master's degree in Sociology, woke up to find that her clothes – which she had left out to dry at her hostel – were allegedly burnt by unknown persons.
The clothes of another trans woman student, Tikku, were also allegedly burnt. Both Lalan and Tikku are members of the Ambedkar Students' Association (ASA). They reside in guest rooms at Men's Hostel K.
"Other inmates of the hostel had also left their clothes out to dry, but both our clothes were deliberately burnt," Lalan alleged to The Quint.
In 2022, Lalan, then aged 22, had made history by becoming the first Dalit trans woman to be elected to the UoH Students' Union. She was a member of the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH). She hails from the Meghwar community in Gujarat's Kutch.
Students stage a protest against the alleged hate crime against two transgender students.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
On Sunday, Tikku and Lalan submitted complaints to the university administration, following which the ASA and the Students' Union launched a protest against the incident on Tuesday. Their demands included:
Identifying and taking action against the perpetrators of alleged hate crimes against transgender students
Constitution of a committee to draft the transgender policy
The transgender policy has to be drafted in consultation with stakeholders to resolve issues pertaining to transgender students, including accommodation, safety, and provisions under the NALSA judgment
A statement by the Students' Union said:
"We understand this incident as an indication of an intent to violently threaten the life and safety of Dalit and transgender students on campus ... We hold the university administration entirely culpable for these violent incidents. The university's dereliction in formulating a transgender policy and its deliberate inaction on the issues of casteist violence have led to this shameful incident."
Students stage a protest against the alleged hate crime against two transgender students.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
Later that day, members of the university administration, including Vice Chancellor Basuthkar J Rao, met the students in light of the protests and agreed to meet their demands. The circular issued by the university stated:
"The University severely condemns the recent incident of hatred and discrimination targeting our transgender students on campus. We stand united in condemning such reprehensible acts and reaffirming our commitment to fostering an environment of inclusivity, respect, and acceptance for all individuals regardless of their gender identity."
"Every member of our campus deserves to feel safe, valued, and supported in their pursuit of education. The recent acts of hostility directed towards our transgender students violate the fundamental values of diversity, equity, and inclusion that the University strives to uphold. Discrimination against any member of our community will not be tolerated," it added.
Students stage a protest against the alleged hate crime against two transgender students.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
The Need for a Transgender Policy
Speaking to The Quint, Lalan said this incident isn't an isolated one and that transgender students on campus have faced attacks in the past, too.
Recalling one such incident, she alleged that she was "physically hounded by a group of students" last year.
"Last September, I was visiting one of the women's hostels in the north campus to do my duty as a GSCASH representative. Some of the inmates stormed the corridor and started taking pictures and videos of me, without my consent. As a result, the security personnel asked me to leave. I filed a complaint about this, but nothing came out of it."
In addition, Lalan says she has been subjected to transphobic abuses and messages on social media. "On WhatsApp groups and other social media platforms, people discuss my bodily anatomy… what kind of chromosomes and hormones I have. There have been instances of people circulating my pictures and videos as well," she alleged.
Trans women students like Lalan are accommodated in the Men's Hostel, in separate guest rooms. Speaking to The Quint in 2022, Lalan had said:
"When I first came to this university, as a Dalit trans woman, my concern was accommodation. But the ASA ensured that I was given dignified accommodation. I was given a guest room in the men's hostel – so that I would at least have the privacy of a bathroom."
She had said that in terms of giving dignified accommodation to trans people, no university has ever set any precedent. "So, I wondered how this university was so receptive to this kind of demand. I believe it's because of what the Rohit Vemula movement had started."
She, however, added that a gender-neutral hostel, which has all the amenities that other hostels have, was a necessity for transgender students.
She also termed the university's decision to formulate a transgender policy "quite historic."
"I think the measure that the university is forced to take is quite historic. It's not a matter of securing justice in my case alone. What has happened now is that the university will have a transgender policy that will be formulated in consultation with all the stakeholders. It will ensure that the university officially recognises our presence on campus," she added.
"Since a committee has been entrusted with framing the policy, it is premature to comment on what it entails. However, it will safeguard the interests of the transgender community on the UoH campus. The policy will be framed taking into account the suggestions of the stakeholders," the office of the Registrar told The Quint over email.
The five-member committee comprises two professors, Prof Pushepsh Kumar and Prof NDS Naga Seema, transgender rights activist Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli, the Deputy Registrar, and a student representative.
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