More than 300 students have registered for the cell and several teachers, too, have joined, she said. The college is also conducting a five-day webinar, during which people from the transgender community will be given the opportunity to speak about their lives and struggles.
Delhi University's Kalindi College has become the first college to constitute a transgender cell to educate its students about issues related to the community and to build awareness on the same. While speaking on the same, Naina Hasija, Principal of the college, said the idea to form a transgender cell was floated by the faculty member, Professor Anita Tagore.
"Initially, I was worried about society. But, we thought the society is slowly accepting them and we must educate our students about the community," she said as reported by NDTV. What bolstered Ms Hasija's decision to form the transgender cell was a visit by a colleague.
"Prof Namita Rajput, former Principal of Sri Aurobindo College (Evening) had come to our college for a talk. She told me that she had invited a transgender person for a talk and the teachers were against the event. But, the person's story left almost 80 per cent of the teachers teary-eyed. They later apologised to [Professor] Rajput and the speaker," Ms Hasija said.
More than 300 students have registered for the cell and several teachers, too, have joined, she said. The college is also conducting a five-day webinar, during which people from the transgender community will be given the opportunity to speak about their lives and struggles.
"Whenever we think of them, there are only two things that come to mind-- that they come to dance at weddings and that they are involved in begging. "There is a need to educate students. We have 4,000 women students and 200 staffers. These are substantial numbers and we are in a position to educate them," Ms Hasija said.
The college has also signed an agreement with Nazariya, a not-for-profit queer feminist resource group and plans to hold counselling sessions for students.
"Representatives from Nazariya will counsel students so that if they want to come out to their parents about their gender identity and so on, they could talk," Ms Hasija said.
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