On Friday, 9 March, a group of twelve girls studying at the Kamala Girls’ School in Kolkata were allegedly called to the headmistress’ office and asked to individually write down that they were lesbians, indulging in obscene, “uncivilised” activities. Otherwise, they were told, they’ll face expulsion.
The school claims that it was acting on a complaint by a fellow student who said that the group of girls “hold hands”, “hug”, “put their hands inside each other’s blouses” and “feel up their skirts”. On Tuesday, 12 March, the headmistress called their parents and described this as “lesbian behaviour” which must be “treated”, unless the students wanted to get suspended.
West Bengal’s Education Minister Partha Chatterjee reacted to this by saying he “will not allow lesbianism in schools”. He also said that it is against Bengal’s culture.
The Quint reached out to the LGBT community who shared their views on the incident.
It is against Indian culture to be against homosexuality. It is NOT Indian culture to be discriminatory. It is Indian culture to be accepting. It is a matter of fundamental rights, especially that of privacy which has been granted to every citizen of the country.Koninika Roy
Whats wrong with exploring sexual identities? Divya Dureja, a Queer Poet Activist and Psychologist asks:
Exploring your gender identity is a very normal thing to do. Schools need to be a safe space where young girls can grow into confident women. They need to be able to explore their gender identity, their sexual identity.
Shouldn’t the government sensitise rather than stigmatise? Asks Sonal Giani, a Queer Activist.
At one level, we have the government that is rolling out its ‘Saathiya’ programme that aims at sensitising peer educators who will be working with young adolescents about how homosexuality is natural. And on the other level, we have this minister. Who is the education minister and why is he making such statements? You cannot discriminate and cause so much harm and distress to students just because they display affection or love to fellow students or other women. Instead of the kids, the staff needs to be sensitised, and I hope the government does that.
Harassing young adults on the lines of sexuality is an example of looming homophobia in the country. As Sujoy Prasad, an interdisciplinary artist, rightly points out, the country needs to teach sex education seriously to its kids, without which, the country might just wake up to become a gender-clueless society.
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