This is one of many initiatives being undertaken to give effect to the University's interim gender-neutral policy.
The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) University in Hyderabad is the country's first gender-neutral institution. This comes after seven years when a student named Anindita Mukherjee was awarded a gender-neutral certificate by the institution. Since then, NALSAR has sought to make its campus more welcoming to members of the LGBTQIA+ community by establishing designated places.
According to the new policy, one of the floors will be classified as 'gender-neutral,' with hostel rooms allocated to students who identify with the community. Gender-neutral washrooms are also available on the ground floor of the academic block as part of the evolving trans mandate.
- SAFE AND INCLUSIVE CAMPUS
The news was shared on the law school's Twitter account.
"The ground floor of Girls Hostel (GH)- 6 has been designated as a gender-neutral space, with rooms allotted to students self-identifying as members of the LGBTQ+ community, with plans to move towards a gender-neutral hostel in due course," it said, that the washroom on the ground floor of the academic block will also be gender-neutral.[1]
During an interview with Bar and Bench , Assistant Professor at NALSAR Akanksha Singh, one of the members spearheading the gender neutral policy-making initiative, who said
"We don't look at this step as a completion in its fullest form in creating inclusive spaces. There is a lot more work that needs to be done. We are working towards the possibility of having a gender-neutral hostel. This is not something that would materialize this semester, but by the next semester."
On the issue of the gender-neutral rooms, Singh said,
"People come with different baggage, so this is just as a safe space that exists on campus where people could freely be who they are. It is intended to be a space where students who are non-conforming feel safe to be themselves and where they can uphold their privacy which they would otherwise not enjoy in cis-gendered hostels."
After that , On the current interim gender-neutral policy that exists, Singh said that
"The current policy being interim requires some changes to be introduced such as the setting up of the Gender & Sexual Minority (GSM) committee where students who identify themselves as gender-neutral can participate and organize sensitization programs to create awareness within the campus. We also intend to have a GSM officer, who would probably be one of the faculty members, who could represent the matters discussed by students to the higher authorities."
Also while Speaking to Bar & Bench, Vice Chancellor Prof. Faizan Mustafa, said,
"Our policy is an expression of and draws inspiration from the Supreme Court judgement in NALSA vs Union of India[2], Navtej Singh Johar vs Union of India[3] and Justice KS Puttaswamy vs Union of India where individual's autonomy, privacy, right to self-identify one's gender had been emphasized. The New Education Policy also talks about inclusive education for everyone - the LGBTQ+ community should get all facilities like others, there should be observance of non-discrimination for them on campus, fair representation, reasonable accommodation for them."
"Student participation has been central in my administration which is phenomenal. The policy while being drafted, is thoroughly being debated on while also inviting suggestions, after which the policy will be finalized. Few years ago we were the second University in the world, next only to University of Oxford - to remove 'Mr' and 'Mrs' from the degrees. At NALSAR, our student community are the primary stakeholders who have the majority say in decisions taken. I appreciate and place on record the good work done by the Committee in introducing this policy and we are still open to suggestions," he concluded.
- RAISING AWARENESS
The Hyderabad-based college intends to educate its teaching and non-teaching staff about the difficulties that the LGBTQIA+ population faces, in addition to providing an inclusive workplace. To improve awareness and visibility, many students founded the 'NALSAR Queer Collective' on campus. There is a non-discrimination policy in place, so students will not be judged based on their identification or personal choices. In addition, pupils will be offered classes on gender and sexuality. With this, the country's most prestigious law school is on its way to becoming the country's first entirely gender-neutral campus. NALSAR, like the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), is at the forefront of an inclusive movement that will push colleges across the country to recognise and support the LGBTQIA+ community.[4]
At last while , Speaking to Bar & Bench, General Secretary of the NALSAR Student Bar Council Ankita Gupta said,
"The Student Bar Council has created a Committee to draft a final policy for the LGBTQ+ community - including infrastructure, identification and recognition, non-discrimination and creation of a Gender and Sexual Minorities Committee. The Committee currently consists of 5 students belonging to the LGBTQ+ community and 2 members of the Student Bar Council. Kranthi Kanwal, Tara Thakur, Priyasha Sinha, Shivam Sharma, Kruttika Lokesh, Sanjeev Gumpenapalli, Ankita Gupta and Aviral Aggarwal currently constitute the Committee."
"With pride and gratitude, I would like to point that our Vice-Chancellor Prof Faizan Mustafa, Assistant Professors Prerna Bijay and Akanksha Singh have facilitated the process, given their approval and guidance at every step," she added.
[1]https://twitter.com/NALSAR_Official/status/1507595201061163015?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1507595201061163015%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthelogicalindian.com%2Flgbtq%2Fnalsar-gender-neutral-campus-34673
[2] Writ Petition (civil) No. 604 of 2013
[3] AIR 2018 SC 4321
[4] https://www.instagram.com/p/B_kB3hInYFg/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=c76820ab-1e0c-4dd0-b36a-2e6dc2f62402
