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New initiative seeks to improve LGBTQ news coverage in India

Three media outlets launched Google News-backed project

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Indian flag (Photo by Rahul Sapra via Bigstock)

In journalism, words matter. They can heal, hurt or excite. Journalists report stories with facts and context that carries emotions and truth about an event. 

The world is changing, and inclusion matters in the changing world. But what if, in the changing world, the journalists who report stories that shape our perspective about LGBTQ people do not use the appropriate terminology.

Three India-based news outlets, the News Minute, and partner organizations Queer Chennai Chronicles and queerbeat have started a new initiative to help Indian news media become more inclusive while covering LGBTQ stories. 

The project will publish a guide, glossaries, workshops and fellowships for Indian journalists. The Google News Initiative is supporting the project in the country. According to the press release, the project will rollout in a phased manner, starting with the translation of the existing glossary of LGBTQ terms into local languages.

Mainstream newsrooms in India often misidentify LGBTQ people and use incorrect pronouns to describe them. They sometimes use inappropriate words to define an event that does not appropriately capture the emotions and events.

ā€œItā€™s not just about covering pride or violence, but across beats,ā€ Ragamalika Karthikeyan, editor of special projects and experiments at the News Minute, said at the virtual press conference while launching the project on Feb. 24. ā€œHow do we write about LGBTQIA+ with dignity and respect, how do we make sure that a personā€™s personhood is maintained, how do we make sure that a community is not disrespected in the course of our journalism? How do we make sure that stories that are disrespectful and dehumanizing queer persons donā€™t keep happening?ā€

In the next phase, the project will launch an LGBTQ media guide in six languages: English, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and Marathi. The reference guide’s goal is to help journalists use more appropriate words to more deeply and accurately cover stories about the LGBTQ community.

“I am yet to come across a journalist or a reporter who has had an issue with anyone being gay. I think the sensitivity comes in where it becomes a question of how to ask a question, so as not to offend,” said Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, a prominent and openly gay Indian defense and foreign analyst who also writes for Dainik Bhaskar, a Hindi newspaper, and is a member of a political think tank. “Even in Hindi newspapers, because I write for Dainik Bhaskar I have not come across a lack of sensitivity. I describe it more as disinterest in LGBTQ issues, and that suits me perfectly fine. I do not want more people to be aware of it. It is much easier to fight when people are not aware of things and have not made up their minds about it.”

The project also aims to start workshops for journalists in the country to sensitize and train them for covering LGBTQ issues more accurately and deeply. There are some fellowships also involved in the project for reporters interested in learning how to write LGBTQ stories sensitively.

“I think it is an applaudable initiative. We need to acknowledge the fact that vocabulary plays an important role in every news report, it is perhaps why time and again we have improvised. For example, in 2016, the Associated Press revised its style guide suggesting journalists to use ‘crash, collision, or other terms’ besides ‘accident’ in auto crash reporting (at least until culpability is proven),” said Heena Khandelwal, a journalist who is based in Mumbai. “Similarly, the initiative takes a step in ensuring that we use the terms/words/language that does not offend the community as well as empowers the vernacular reporters by looking for their alternatives in regional languages. The decision to turn it into a handbook will make it accessible to the journalist community at large.”

Khandelwal, while talking to the Washington Blade, said that she believes that there is also a need for more LGBTQ journalists in the newsroom.

“We cannot ask a man to not write about women’s issues, can we? Similarly, we cannot and must not ask heterosexual journalists to report about the LGBTQIA+ community and support the initiative by Newsminute so that it is done correctly. At the same time, we must include journalists from the LGBTQIA+ community to make our coverage more inclusive,” said Khandelwal. “There are so many aspects to their daily lives, struggles as well as achievements that heterosexual journalists would have a limited understanding of and by covering them, they would be widening the horizon of us writers as well as readers. Their inclusion would also make newsrooms more vibrant and a publication’s voice, not only when publishing a LGBTQIA+ story but otherwise as well, more inclusive.”

Khandelwal has covered LGBTQ-specific stories for Daily News and Analysis (DNA), the fastest-growing English newspaper in Mumbai.

Ankush Kumar is a freelance reporter who has covered many stories for Washington and Los Angeles Blades from Iran, India and Singapore. He recently reported for the Daily Beast. He can be reached at mohitk@opiniondaily.news. He is on Twitter at @mohitkopinion

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India

India court allows transgender woman to participate in Armed Forces’ youth wing

Feb. 29 ruling in Kerala state upheld other judge’s decision

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(Photo by Rahul Sapra via Bigstock)

A Kerala High Court judge on Feb. 29 upheld another magistrate’s ruling that allowed a transgender woman to participate in the Indian Armed Forces’ youth wing as a female.

The High Court set aside a part of the order that directed the central government to amend the NCC Act to allow trans people to enroll based on their gender identity.

“When the petitioner has been given the identity of a female, she is certainly entitled to be enrolled in the NCC under section 6(2) of the NCC Act,” said Justice Anu Sivaraman. “In the light of the aforesaid provisions of the Transgenders Act and also in the light of the dictum laid down by the Apex Court in National Legal Service Authority (NALSA).” 

The judge said that the court cannot direct the government to amend the law, but expressed hope that the Indian government would amend the NCC Act to expressly allow the entry of trans candidates to the NCC.

The Kerala High Court said that the fact that the National Cadet Corps Act does not recognize the third gender cannot be a reasonable justification to deny entry to a trans person.

Hina Haneefa had filed a petition with the High Court that challenged a section of the NCC Act that only allowed males and females under Section 6 of the law to enroll in the Cadet Corps.

“In view of the specific provisions of the 2019 act, a transgender person has the right to be recognized not only as a transgender but also a right to self-perceived gender, i.e. the female gender,” said Sivaraman. “The denial of enrollment is unsustainable. The petitioner will be entitled to participate in the selection process on the basis of her application. If she is successful, the petitioner will be enrolled in the NCC Unit.”

Haneefa is a trans woman who applied to enroll in the NCC after undergoing gender-affirming procedures and getting her identity card. The NCC denied her application. 

Parliament in 2019 passed Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019, which extended rights to trans people.  

While talking with the Washington Blade, Kalki Subramaniam, an Indian trans activist, queer artist, entrepreneur and actor, said trans people in the country have to fight for the inclusion of trans people in all sectors.

“We have to go to the court, we have to fight with the system, then the high court directs the state and the central government to take inclusive steps. Again and again, repetitive,” said Subramaniam. “Why should trans people should struggle for everything? I am sure, the central government is working towards equality and inclusion because they recently published Equal Opportunity Policy for Transgender Persons. The government will consider this to include trans people in NCC. What I am looking for is the inclusion of transgender people in the Indian military. That could be a long term plan, but it is possible and ultimately rests in the government’s hands.”

Subramaniam expressed her firm belief that all Indian citizens, including members of the trans community, deserve the opportunity to serve the country. She emphasized the potential of trans individuals to contribute to national defense and public service, highlighting both the military and civil services as avenues for their inclusion. Subramaniam voiced her confidence in the central government of India’s willingness to address this issue and expressed hope for future action.

Souvik Saha, an LGBTQ activist and founder of People for Change, one of India’s premier advocacy groups, said he supports the Kerala High Court ruling.

“This decision is a significant step towards inclusivity and recognizing the rights of transgender individuals to participate fully in all aspects of society,” said Saha. “The NCC Act currently only allows for the enrollment of male and female cadets, which is discriminatory against transgender individuals and reinforces harmful binary gender norms. By ordering the central government to amend the NCC Act to accommodate transgender individuals, the Kerala High Court is acknowledging the need for legal protections and equal opportunities for all genders.”

Saha said the decision will set a positive precedent for other institutions and organizations to follow suit in recognizing and accommodating trans people. Souvik added it sends a clear message that discrimination based on gender identity is not acceptable and that trans people have the right to equal opportunities and access to resources.

“Moreover, allowing transgender individuals to enroll in the NCC provides them with valuable opportunities for personal development, leadership training, and civic engagement,” he said. “By participating in programs like the NCC, transgender individuals can gain skill, confidence, and a sense of belonging, which are essential for their overall well-being and success.”

“Overall, the Kerala High Court’s decision to allow a transgender woman to enroll in the NCC is a significant victory for LGBTQ rights and a crucial step towards creating a more inclusive and equitable society,” he added. “It is imperative that the central government swiftly amends the NCC Act to ensure that transgender individuals are not excluded or discriminated against based on their gender identity.”

Ankush Kumar is a reporter who has covered many stories for Washington and Los Angeles Blades from Iran, India and Singapore. He recently reported for the Daily Beast. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is on Twitter at @mohitkopinion. 

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Indian government announces equal opportunity policy for transgender people

Privacy among regulation’s key tenants

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(Photo by Rahul Sapra via Bigstock)

The Indian government has announced a first of its kind equal opportunity policy for transgender people.

The policy will prohibit the disclosure of a trans person’s gender identity without their consent as the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules 2020 requires. The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry says the Equal Opportunity Policy for Transgender Persons will encourage the fair treatment of trans people and create workplaces free from discrimination, harassment and bias. 

The policy seeks to ensure a trans employee’s the right to choose a pronoun, gender and a chosen name ā€” every business, non-governmental organization and other employers in India will be required address the trans individual with the chosen names in all workplace communications. The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has circulated the notice to all the states and chief secretaries and asked them to ensure the swift implementation of the policy.

The notified policy highlights the importance of maintaining confidentiality of gender identity. 

“Information related to gender identity will be treated with utmost confidentiality,” it reads. “Employees are expected to respect the privacy of their colleagues and refrain from disclosing any such information without explicit consent.”

The policy also states a business’ HR department will launch an inquiry that could lead to sanctions if the policy is violated. The policy also prohibits bullying against trans people in the workplace.

“Harassment or bullying based on gender identity is strictly prohibited,” it reads. “Any reported incident will be promptly and thoroughly investigated, and appropriate corrective actions will be taken.”

Every organization will have a grievance redress system in order to address policy violations. Workplaces will also be required to have infrastructure facilities for trans employees ā€” unisex bathrooms and amenities that include hygiene products, for example ā€” for trans people to effectively discharge their duties.

Sudhanshu Latad, an advocacy manager atĀ Humsafar Trust, an organization that promotes LGBTQ rights in India, told the Washington Blade he supports the initiative, while adding a person’s identity does play a role in their experiences.

“The care and support, let’s say in this case a trans person requires will be very different than support a cis woman will require,” said Latad. “They need different short of bases to be covered to be able to perform to the same expectations that a cis man like me would require to perform in a situation or a role.” 

“It is important to give everyone an equitable platform, this is a welcome step because it discloses that the government is keen on working with various communities,” he added. “This formal acknowledgement or expression of interest in including gender minorities at workplace by the central government is a welcome move.”

Latad nevertheless told the Blade the policy alone “would not be enough” to address discrimination based on gender identity.

“There needs to be enough focus dissemination of this policy within the existing workforce,” he said. “Until and unless a senior manager from the government understands the use and need of pronouns in the communities … the implementation of this amazing policy will not happen on the ground.”

Latad told the Blade that sensitization, roundtables and equal dialogue will help unlearn and then learn which is the way forward for providing equal rights to the community. He said the use of chosen pronouns does seem like a small effort, but it does take a lot of effort and it is important. Latad added everyone, not just employers, needs to be taught equality.

Doctor Yoga S. Nambiar, founder and director of Global Rights Foundation and the first trans person in India to hold a PhD in mental health, said the new policy is good. They noted the government has announced many policies since the Supreme Court issued its National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) vs. the Union of India ruling, but they’re only on paper.

“Till the time the government does not take the initiative to take care of the policies, nothing is going to work,” said Yoga. “Government promised housing for trans people, government promised transgender cell in police stations, nothing has came in force as of now. So, if things workout, it’s good, if not, we are struggling anyways. We are fighting for our rights.”

The Supreme Court in the NALSA case in 2014 ruled in favor of the trans community, saying state and central governments must fully recognize trans people under the law in order for them to receive an education and health care without discrimination. The Supreme Court also said trans people will be considered a “third gender.”

Ankush Kumar is a reporter who has covered many stories for Washington and Los Angeles Blades from Iran, India and Singapore. He recently reported for the Daily Beast. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is on Twitter at @mohitkopinion. 

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New Delhi high school students champion LGBTQ rights

Tagore International School’s Breaking Barriers program making a difference

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Tagore International School in New Delhi (Washington Blade photo by Ankush Kumar)

NEW DELHI ā€” New Delhi woke up to a frosty morning on Feb. 3. The air was crisp and biting, as a thick blanket of fog enveloped the surroundings in a ghostly haze. Amid this wintry scene,Ā Tagore International School – Vasant Vihar bustled with life, its buildings standing strong against the chilly breeze while teachers hurried for an outdoor tour on the weekend.Ā Ā 

In India traditions and customs sparkle like jewels in every corner. In the vast land, where old beliefs often hold strong, Tagore International School in South Delhi is a special place where something magical is happening. The school is becoming the beacon of inclusivity. 

The Washington Blade visited the school and talked to the students, board members and its project coordinator. 

While talking to the Blade, Vaanya Kalra, a 12th grade student at the school, said her parents are understanding and supportive. Vaanya, with a smile on her face, said she had free access to the internet when she was younger. It was during this time that she discovered a campaign called Breaking Barriers at her school that aims to support and raise awareness about LGBTQ rights.

“Breaking Barriers has existed for the past 10 years at my school, and I kind of always wanted to join it,” said Vaanya. “I did when I had the opportunity to join it.”

Vaanya, with a mixed feeling of sadness and anger in her eyes, opened up about her journey and said people were reacting differently to people who were different. Vaanya, who has always been an empathetic person, saw unnecessary hatred around gender and sexuality over the internet, and it became difficult for her to ignore it. She excitedly said she had time, energy and empathy and decided to join Breaking Barriers at her school.

Vaanya told the Blade she had the conversation with her friends and family before she joined the campaign. Her family was accepting of everything. She confidently shared that she enjoyed her journey in Breaking Barriers while supporting the LGBTQ community in her school and campaigning for it in other schools. Vaanya said she is considering higher studies in international relations.

While talking to the Blade, Vaanya expressed her extreme displeasure with an Indian news outlet for accusing Breaking Barriers members of ‘brainwashing children.’ She said that when she went online for a meeting on Breaking Barriers activities, random people took over the platform to dictate how wrong this campaign was.

“It was a very difficult journey,” said Vaanya.

Tagore International School Student Development Advisor Shivanee Sen joined the interview virtually from New York and discussed the campaign’s background. 

She said Safina Ameen and Sohini Chakrabarti were student leaders and participated in the South Asia competition for an expansive school-wide social background and Shivanee chose to join the group. Sohini, Safina and Shivanee, at their young age, sat together and decided to work in gender space. While the discussion was going on, Shivanee suggested working in the field of gender and sexuality, and the other two happily agreed to work.

Shivanee said the initial group discussion was about working on women’s rights issue, but her idea was to work on other populations who suffer discrimination in India. Shivanee’s idea led the group of three young women to work on LGBTQ rights in India. Shivanee sent Sohini and Safina home for their parents’ consent and they luckily gave it. The group then started to work on LGBTQ rights at the school level.

From left: Sohini Chakrabarti and Shivanee Sen at a UNESCO conference.(Photo courtesy of Priyanka Randhawa/Breaking Barriers)

Sohini, one Breaking Barriers’s founders, said that there was an institutional void around this thematic area across schools in India.

“These things are not being discussed in schools. I was also 13 years old when we began. So as a young kid who was trained by professionals from NGOs, and because we were on the field working on gender rights at the same time, I was talking to students older than I was, and teachers about sexuality which was quite strange and jarring to some people to have like a school-wide campaign on this thematic, because of its central kind of overarching challenge,” said Siddhi Pal, one of Breaking Barriers’ original members. “It was really hard for us to take the campaign to different schools as our work was labeled as criminal, illegal and brainwashing. Those kind of things were a huge barrier, but apart from that we were so onboard. We pushed through it and made it work. But 10 years ago subject mattered the most as we were all kids.”

While answering what kind of resistance the campaign faced from the parents, Shivanee said not much because all members joined in with pre-parental consent. Shivanee further said that in the past 10 years, her Breaking Barriers campaign that supports the LGBTQ community at schools rarely faced parental resistance.

“I am quite surprised that in past 10 years we haven’t really had parental pushback,” she said. “They might not be okay with their kids joining the campaign, but no parent has taken it upon themselves to try and stop the workshops happening at school.”

Expressing concern about how an Indian news outlet published a homophobic article about Breaking Barriers and Tagore International School, Vaanya said with extreme confidence that when negative news about the campaign and the members, especially in a newspaper, comes out that means the campaign is making a change.

Siddhi joined the interview from London and said the biggest source of support is when new students enroll each year. That’s when they see what their peers are doing and that helped further inspire the campaign.

“What I have heard from others over the years, people actually aspire to join the campaign as they get into more leadership position,” said Sohini. “It’s interesting to see as it was hard to start it off, and there were lots of challenges in the beginning, not to say there are not now, but to keep it going has been easier because every year more students come in, there is more and more information about the campaign. So, to keep it going has been really amazing.”

Tagore International School students (Photo courtesy of Priyanka Randhawa/Breaking Barriers)

Tagore International School Project Coordinator Priyanka Randhawa told the Blade the campaign selects the office holders from ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th grades ā€” its president or vice president typically comes from the older classes, while any interested students can join it. The Breaking Barriers team at the school is turning the campaign into a movement and taking sessions in other schools as well.

“We go to other schools and take up sensitive issues with them,” said Randhawa. “At the workshop, we show a presentation in other schools, and explain terminology related to Breaking Barriers, we share the stories of transgenders and we try to touch on emotional aspects also.” 

“These workshops are meant for high school students only. We also do workshops for educators for sensitization,” added Randhawa. “We have also collaborated with NGOs like Naz Foundation, they train our students and sensitize on LGBTQ community.”

Priyanka said the campaign encourages other schools to start their own Breaking Barriers groups.

Jiya Chawla, a student at the Tagore International School and member of Breaking Barriers, told the Blade in New Delhi that she, along with Vaanya, joined the campaign four years ago.

“We have been to multiple schools. At least 20 schools offline and online we have been to more than 40 schools,” said Jiya. “We faced questions that were a homophobic point of view or a transphobic point of view. But we never said no you are wrong. We always take our time and try to understand where they are coming from. We try to break that stigma. We know that one session is not enough to break down generational prejudices, so we do face a lot of backlash sometimes, but social media has really come to our aid now. Because everybody is already aware of what this community is all about. So now, we don’t have to explain what the community is, but why equality is important.”

On the question of changing behavior outside the Breaking Barriers, Sohini told the Blade she expected the backlash and when she was going around campaigning for the LGBTQ community at Tagore International School in New Delhi. Her parents curiously asked her to do a presentation for them.

“It is a taboo topic, people don’t want to engage with you. But I was personally surprised by how curious people around me were,” said Siddhi with a big smile on her face. “My parents, once were like oh you are going around, doing this presentation, so why don’t you do it for us? I think that was one of the toughest initial presentations for me because you sit down with your parents and you go through talking about sex and sexuality.” 

“It was really surprising in the beginning, even when we started doing presentations for teachers, I think teachers had a lot more questions than students in the beginning,” she added. “My friends were more willing to engage and then family, of course there are people who do not want to engage at all as well.”

A 15-year-old student at Delhi Public School in 2022 died by suicide after being bullied for his sexuality at school. The administration did not take any action, even though his mother filed a complaint. 

Vaanya said it is important to create a safe space for students at school in order to adequately respond to these concerns. She said administrators and teachers were very supportive.

“Ensuring kids that it’s okay to feel different, it’s okay for you to have a different sexuality or act differently is very important. We have created a safe space, people understand that you do not have to bully others for it and they do not have to hate others for it,” said Vaanya. “Nobody is hating someone for this or actively bullying someone for this. We have a very strict anti-bullying policy as well, so we have managed to create a safe space for everybody.”

Ankush Kumar is a reporter who has covered many stories for Washington and Los Angeles Blades from Iran, India and Singapore. He recently reported for the Daily Beast. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is on Twitter at @mohitkopinion. 

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