advertisement
She left home unable to stand her parents’ rejection of her gender identity, she struggled to finish school, and now, finally, she’s started her journey to becoming a doctor. Tharika S Banu, a young transgender woman, is an inspiration for many – and she has now attained a seat in the Government Siddha Medical College, thanks to a Madras High Court order.
But her journey from attaining an admission in a government school to getting a college seat was not an easy one.
Tharika hails from Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu and studied till Class 11 in a government school there.
She decided to leave her house and come to Chennai. “After I had my surgery and transitioned, Grace Banu adopted me,” Tharika says, referring to another young trans woman and activist. “She is the one supporting me for my education,” Tharika says.
Tharika Banu was adopted by Grace Banu, an activist, about three years ago.
First, they applied in Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Senior Secondary School – a girls’ school – in the city, but the headmaster claimed that they only had English medium, whereas Tharika has studied in Tamil medium throughout.
To ensure that Tharika got an admission into the school, Grace met the Collector and carried out protests. But the district wasn’t ready to admit that trans women are also women.
Grace Banu was adamant that her daughter should only study at a girls’ school.
She added that the school finally gave Tharika admission, but that she was very disappointed in them.
But once Tharika got an admission in the school, she did not face too much trouble, as the staff was supportive and her classmates also helped her.
But after Class 12, she again had to fight another battle for a seat in Bachelor of Siddha Medicine and Surgery (BSMS) course at Siddha Government College. Tharika applied to the college but she was never called for counselling as she had only secured 45.25 percent and the minimum requirement was 50 percent in Class 12 examinations.
Tharika then filed a petition in the Madras High Court, and the court ordered the college to provide a seat in the institution. The court stated that the 50 percent cut off was applicable only for male and female students, and not for those applying under the ‘third gender’ category.
Though Grace Banu is also happy that Tharika has gotten admission into a college of her choice, she feels that this is not a permanent solution to the question of education for transgender persons.
Adding that the court has asked the Tamil Nadu government to look into this, she said: “There are many people like Tharika who want an education, the main problem is that there is no reservation. Our demand is that governments should follow the 2014 Supreme Court judgment in the NALSA case, and implement the order in all states and provide reservation for us.”
(This was originally published on The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)