The first residential school for trans students has opened in India
A school in Kerala, India, is the first residential school to exclusively open doors to transgender student.
The school hopes to facilitate a safe learning space for the trans community because a number of individuals face discrimination and bullying.
So far 6 students have been successful in applying for the school out of 14 that have applied.
Alongside the traditional curriculum, the school will teach a vocational course to increase the rates of employability upon leaving the school. It encourages resume building, to help tackle the high unemployment rates in the community.
Founder Vijayraja Mallika, said: “This is a center for those transgender students who had to drop out of school because they were abused or because they were kicked out by their families or school authorities.
“The aim of the transgender school is to provide transgenders security, salvation and sustainability,” they added.
To help fund the school, the founders are seeking out sponsors and government help to continually provide food, accommodation and study materials.
It’s estimated that 2 million transgender people live in India, and in the last two years the country has seen vast improvements for protecting and creating equality for trans folk.
In 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that transgender people should have equal rights under the law and were also granted legal status to identify as a third gender.
The law sparked the right for trans people to marry, inherit property, and become eligible for quotas in jobs and education institutions.
