What is Pride RGNUL and a Glance at the Newly Established Gender-Neutral Washrooms
Interviewee: | Deb Ganapathy and Harsh Bhargava (Members of Pride RGNUL) |
Interviewer: | Hunar (Associate Editor, RGNUL Cosmos) |
Introduction: Pride RGNUL is a collective of the students here at RGNUL who are a part of the queer community and aim to provide a forum for healthy conversation on subjects such as self-identification and reformative steps for the upliftment of the queer community. The Gender Inclusive District Project by the Legal Aid Clinic, RGNUL recently introduced Gender-Neutral washrooms on the campus which has been viewed as a big step towards making the campus an inclusive space for everyone. This interview aims to glance over the process that led to the establishment of these washrooms followed by an interesting and enlightening conversation with Deb Ganapathy (He/They), 2nd year, and Harshwardhan Bhargava (He/Him, Ze/Hir), 1st year, members of Pride RGNUL regarding issues and challenges faced by the queer community.
Q.1) Pride RGNUL is a great platform for the LGBTQIA+ community here at RGNUL. But there also exists a lack of awareness regarding its existence among the student body. So, what exactly is Pride RGNUL and how do you plan to make it an interactive and unique initiative for the students?
Answer: We started as a group back in 2020, during the pandemic, in order to help establish a safe space for the closeted students of our university. During the pandemic, the students were stuck at home which posed a homophobic and unhealthy environment for some of us. Pride RGNUL began as a “queer-inclusive” or “queer-friendly” group in order to help closeted members of the queer community feel secure and provide them with a safe space in order for them to be able to feel a sense of belongingness. Now that we are back at campus, with so many of us openly belonging to the queer community, we aim to spread awareness through our page as well as push for a comfort zone for everyone to have some tough conversations. While people do believe we are not very active or present, it is because we are testing our waters by trying to be a little careful about generally telling people. We intend to create a friendly and secure environment in order to enable interaction among queer people and surely intend to incorporate more individuals into the fold while moving slowly and carefully.
Q.2) It is quite unfortunate that homophobia and discrimination are still prevalent despite various steps being undertaken towards the acceptance of the LGBTQIA+ community. Have there been any specific challenges or discriminatory incidents you have experienced here at university?
Answer: There exists a lack of gender-neutral washrooms in spaces like the Facility area and the Auditorium to name a few. We are not aware of the number of people on the campus who are closeted or belong to the LGBTQIA+ which makes it extremely unfair for them as they may end up feeling uncomfortable while using the men’s or women’s washrooms. Furthermore, there will be juniors who will be joining us at campus shortly and the lack of these washrooms in other areas poses a challenge for them as well. There also exists a huge gap in what is being done to make the campus all-inclusive and the kind of conversations that happen between students and the students and faculty. There is surely an effort on the part of the community at RGNUL to make resources of information more accessible yet there is a certain way or sense that people follow in order to unpack sensitive issues like gender. We live in a society where such conversations are considered to be tough to have and not everyone has been exposed to information or perceptions beyond the constructive sense of “gender.” Sadly, this is something you cannot talk about in college, yet, with the students or the faculty because there is a gap in understanding of what gender is.
Q.3) Do you feel there is a safe space or an adequate platform to redress the issues one might face at campus?
Answer: While there do exist platforms for grievance redressal at the campus, many people end up not approaching the same maybe due to the fear of dismissal by the authorities or the kind of prejudices that might exist which led to the problem in the first place. While there is an attempt in the form of grievance redressal committees, etc., nobody can be sure of the efficacy of the same and there is surely more that can be done to assure people that they are in a protected space. Conversations end up being brushed under the carpet in more insidious ways than one could expect as institutions of queerphobia or casteism are usually not posed in loud forms but actually determine the day-to-day conversations between people. We intend to create a redressal community along the same lines of a women’s cell or a minority cell which consists of a faculty member in order to raise awareness and find solutions for the problems faced by the queer community at the campus. Currently, we can only approach a handful of faculty members at the campus, that too via email or WhatsApp which leads to many disruptions or obstacles in the way of finding a solution to problems of grave concern like harassment and bullying. This initiative will also coincide with the creation of a student body that can act as a connecting link between the faculty and the students which currently, does not exist.
Q.4) Recently the Legal Aid Clinic opened Gender-Neutral Washrooms at various places on the campus that aim to create the campus a gender-neutral sphere. While the Legal Aid Clinic aims to undertake more steps towards the same, how do you feel about the initiative? Is there any constructive feedback you would like to provide?
Answer: The initiative is obviously a step in the right direction but also other aspects like the college infrastructure, and understanding of what the university is are all informed by the binary definitions of what gender is that we have constructed. While the washrooms are certainly a good idea, there is a lot more that can be done which will be realized with time. For e.g., NALSAR is actually doing a wonderful job with regards to gender-neutrality and understanding gender by creating a gender-neutral space, a research committee on gender and sexuality and also trying to turn interactions between professors and students. Furthermore, the washrooms being gender-neutral should have specific urinals. Every person should have the choice to use the washroom as they deem fit for themselves and their gender-identity as self-identification plays a major role and the term “gender-neutral” in its true sense is actually limiting the use of such washrooms for only those identifying themselves with the third gender. While change cannot come immediately, we must take conscious steps towards supporting the idea of self-identification and provide people with opportunities to exercise their choice. The Legal Aid Clinic has surely taken a remarkable initiative in the direction towards gender-neutrality, however, they must not stop or limit themselves as there is much that needs to be done. The washrooms should also be established in other areas of the campus as well. The Clinic should also strive towards making a gym-timings uniform for everyone in order to make the campus more gender-neutral.
Q.5) One of the major challenges to inclusivity and harmony between all is the lack of awareness that causes a deep stigma to be adopted by various individuals. How do you think you as a student at RGNUL can tackle that?
Answer: Events such as the Colloquium recently hosted by the Pro Bono Club at RGNUL is one of the many events hosted at campus wherein queer activists, research professors, or academicians have been invited to talk about gender and related issues. Something much more ambitious would be to conduct a town hall where we can connect the administrative divisions of the college along with the students with the help of the Legal Aid Clinic in order to find out the grievances of the queer community at college. Things are happening at the campus but most of these events happen online over Cisco and are only attended by a few. One very important thing that nobody is talking about is what we are reading in our syllabus, especially in subjects like Jurisprudence and History. The scope of conversations we can have related to law and sexuality or law and gender is immense and definitely take a more progressive stance by making the syllabus more inclusive. History does not talk of the queer movements or the queer movement in India which holds great importance as these experiences are common in today’s world and need to be contextualized. Literature is the best tool in order to help people understand and educate them about queer rights and issues. As more and more people come out, we must change things and sensitize everyone through academic means and other informative resources available in today’s globalized world. However, this initiative must be taken up by the faculty as well as time and again we have seen the backlash such things have faced in the past but that makes it even more essential to add such topics to our academic syllabus and make it progressive in nature.
Q.6) India is still developing and especially after the Navtej Singh Johar judgment, we see many new spheres of laws coming up that support the LGBTQIA+ community. Do you think our country is well equipped with enough laws to help in the betterment of its LGBTQIA+ community?
Answer: While these judgments have been welcomed by all, we are still moving in the opposite direction instead of the betterment of the queer community. Everything that has happened after the judgment, like the passing of the atrocious Transgender Rights Bill, the Parliamentarians or MLAs don’t know or seem to understand the vast bubble that is gender and its related issues. For e.g., the constant denial of advocate Saurabh Kirpal to be appointed as the Judge of the Delhi High Court because he’s openly gay. In the end, India has been set so far back with regard to our understanding of these issues that a lot of work needs to be done. You can only see acceptance of the queer community in extremely progressive parts of the country, for instance, in a school in South Delhi, most people will know of the queer community or its struggles in contrast to such places where there might exist no understanding or an active discomfort about such issues which is also reflected in the ways our laws are drafted. There is a lack of understanding also because of the lack of representation of queer people in the government and you cannot expect people who are not from the community to be able to draft good laws for the issues dealt by them. These laws will mostly be drafted upon homophobic prejudices or stereotypes that already exist in society and only have a half-hearted impact on the queer community. We must begin to change things from the root which is at the school level by inculcating sex education in the syllabus along with other queer-inclusive topics. Another major issue is the lack of a ban on conversion therapy which is absolutely traumatizing and unhealthy. Furthermore, there needs to be security or a legal right that should back gay marriage. The religious connotation of marriage should not be included while drafting such laws as it is the legal aspect and the rights that come with a marriage that the queer community does not possess. It is actually a little worrying to think about the future of this country.
Q.7) I am extremely grateful to you for taking the time out and having this conversation with us today. Lastly, is there any specific message you would like to give to the students here at RGNUL?
Answer: We as a queer community can absolutely help other people know us better. It does not matter what one has committed out of spite or dislike. Instead, what matters is that one must apologize and learn from their mistakes. Sensitization of people can only happen through an increased conversation about sensitive topics in order to break deep stigmas attached to gender and identity. Furthermore, if you are a queer student facing any difficulty at the campus, you can always reach out to us at Pride RGNUL and we can always help you approach the authorities and at the very least provide you with a safe platform and make you feel less alone especially when you are new to campus and away from your family.
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