Lucknow (The Hawk): A private school in the Lakhimpur Kheri region of Uttar Pradesh allegedly forced a 29-year-old trans woman to leave after she revealed her gender to some of the institution's staff and students.
The woman was terminated, according to the school administration, because she was unqualified to teach one of the topics for which she had been hired.
The woman claimed that after being employed as a social studies and English instructor and the school administration saw her credentials, they instructed her to keep her gender identification a secret.
"I was hired by the school and given the position of a trained graduate teacher (TGT) for social science and English on November 22, after a three-stage, demanding interview process," she added.
She claimed that barely a little over a week after being given the instructions regarding her identification, she was asked to resign.
"Some staff members and students bullied me in the school because of my physical characteristics, which are different from those of other women. I used to attract too much attention from people due to my appearance, and I was even labelled a "hijra" and laughed at (eunuch). Then, after telling the children that I was a representative of the community, I attempted to educate and sensitise them about the community and the laws being developed for such individuals.
She said, "This was unacceptable to the administration of the school, and on December 2, only 10 days after I had been hired, I was asked to leave on the grounds that I was not qualified to teach social science."
At the Bhandari Hospital and Research Centre in Indore, the woman, who was born a guy, underwent a male-to-female sex reassignment procedure in 2019.
She said that she was an effective teacher whose abilities were recognised by the pupils and the school's principal. She was forced to resign after the school learned of her identity, but they were also hesitant to grant her the letter of release.
"I then dialled 181 to reach the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), who recommended me to report the incident to the local police. I received my resignation letter through email on December 3; it stated that I was fired because I was struggling to teach social sciences, but it also noted that I was an effective English teacher. The DCW had also dispatched local police to the school.
The teacher was fired because of the difficulty she was having in the social science topic, not because of her orientation, according to Sunny Gupta, managing director of the institution, refuting all of the charges.
"She is a fantastic English teacher, but she lacks the depth of social science expertise for which she was hired. Prior to teaching, she used to prepare a chapter but was unaware of the preceding chapters. We don't want to jeopardise the students' future because the board examinations are only three months away, he stated.
"We were completely unaware of her identity. Although we learned about her change afterwards, it is irrelevant to us. Only after numerous requests and her assurance that she would get better over time was she hired. When we need an English teacher, we would love to have her back in the classroom. Although we don't want to become involved in this, we may also bring a slander lawsuit, he continued.
"I want reinstatement as TGT for social science and an apology from the principal," the teacher yelled. The management should also establish a suitable complaint process and educate the staff and senior students on the rights of transgender people. I've already started a petition on Change.org, and if my demand is not honoured, I'll go to court.
(Inputs from Agencies)