Trans Student Waits Over A Month For Accommodation At SRFTI Hostel: Need For Inclusivity

A Dalit transwoman, Zena Sagar, student of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) has waited for almost a month to get a written response from the college to her application for getting accommodation at the women’s hostel. The application also consisted of the Gender Identity Dysphoria letter from the student’s psychiatrist and her endocrinologist’s letter.

Zena had already submitted the essential documents, but the administration had said that they would have to see what gender she had when she came into the institute and act accordingly. In the application, Zena identified herself as a "transfeminine person undergoing medical transition."

Trans Student Accommodation

She also mentioned that she was in the process of applying for her trans-ID, but the whole process would take three to four months. She wrote to the SRFTI administration on May 15 and hasn’t received a response yet.

She has also approached the West Bengal Transgender Persons Development Board, accusing the SRFTI administration of being outrightly discriminatory towards her on the basis of her gender identity as a transwoman.

Another issue that Zena is facing is that she does not have the financial resources to continue to stay in her current accommodation beyond June 30 due to her ongoing medical transitional expenses.

According to 2019 government data, 814 transgender students have enrolled in the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in the last five years, while none have enrolled in central universities. The data also revealed that there were no transgender teaching or non-teaching staff in these universities.

Need For Inclusivity!

Transgender students usually prefer open universities to avoid facing discrimination at central universities. Bullying is already a large issue that hasn’t completely been eradicated in educational institutions, and the students of the transgender community and other members of the LGBTQIA+ community are more prone to getting bullied by fellow students. It’s high time universities made it difficult for students from transgender communities to exercise their basic right to pursue their education.

Don’t they too deserve to have a regular college life like every other youngster? Unfortunately, it’s a well-known fact that discrimination in college isn’t the only issue that students face. There’s a lot more social, legal, and personal pressure that they are dealing with. All it would take is a little bit of an inclusive mindset to let them pursue education in peace so that they too can prove themselves to the world. Only that will lead to the wholesome empowerment of the transgender community.

Suggested Reading: Trans Doctor Denied Housing: Can We Stop Discriminating Over Gender?

Image Credits: DNA India

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