Mention school and all Sujil can think of is long years of harassment and humiliation, the very reason he kept away from the world of academics for long. But now the 30-year-old is confident that he will complete his education, the first step towards inclusion and independence for a transperson.
“All the papers so far have been easy and our hard work has finally paid off,” says Sujil, who is just out of his exam hall. While 26 transpersons in the State registered for the Class 10 equivalency exam as part of Samanwaya, Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority’s (KSLMA) continuing education programme for community members, Kollam has the highest number of candidates — nine.
Sujil adds that it was the hostile attitude of his teachers and friends that made him a school dropout. “I wanted to study, but some 15 years ago it was not easy living as a transperson in our society. I thought I would never get a chance to complete my studies, but Samanwaya changed it all. After this I will sign for the Plus Two course and then degree and PG,” he says. All the nine candidates have been diligently attending the classes and are very serious when it comes to clearing the exam. Muhammed Shan, who recently met with an accident, cannot move without the help of others. But that has not stopped him from attending the exam. It took Jerome 20 years to restart his studies as ‘situations were too difficult till now’ as the 39-year-old puts it.
Shaukath, Manikandan, Vijayakumar, Mathews, Muhammed Shan, Samson and Yogeeshwaran are also attending the exams in Kollam.