India’s First School For Transgenders To Come Up In UP

The Akhil Bharatiya Kinnar Shiksha Sewa Trust (ABKSST), as an initiative that will bring the third gender into social and cultural mainstream, laid the foundation stone for the country’s first ever Transgenders’ school, on Sunday, in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district.

The initiative, which is an effort to bring transgenders under the ambit of social inclusion, targets to facilitate seamless education of the third gender from Class-1 to post-graduation. Education would make them self-reliant and prepare them for professional careers, said BJP MP Ramapati Ram Tripathi, as reported by India Today.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, he said, “there should be more initiatives to bring the third gender into the social mainstream. Transgenders are a part of society and have the right to lead a normal life like all of us. They should also enter into political mainstream. Education will empower them and open new avenues in life for them.”

The school will be accessible to every age group in the transgender community. Moreover, according to Zila Panchayat chairman Vinay Prakash Gonda, higher education will be imparted to those who have passed the basic education. Professional courses are also in the pipeline to provide self-employed opportunities to transgenders, he added.

The community is presently alienated, therefore, the initiative will in a way transform the lives of transgenders. “We will have a life beyond singing and dancing at weddings. Initiatives like this will help in making a career for ourselves in becoming self-reliant,” said  Mahamndelswar Laxmi Narayan Tripathi of the Kinnar Akhara.