Trans teacher lodges complaint

KOLKATA: A transgender government school teacher lodged a complaint at Rahara police station, alleging that she felt ‘discriminated’ by the behaviour of the headmistress. The teacher, who had also staged a sit-in demonstration on the school premises on Friday evening, claimed that the headmistress had asked her to ‘get out’ of her room when she went to offer a suggestion regarding hosting competitive exams on the campus. The headmistress has denied the allegation saying she was ‘busy’ and didn’t misbehave.

The teacher has complained to the cops alleging that she felt “discriminated” by the headmistress. “Our headmistress could have decently turned down my request to not cut down class hours this way. Instead, she rudely told me: ‘You should get out of my room’. This is no way to talk to a teacher. I am a proud transgender and I deserve respect,” she said. The school’s headmistress told TOI: “I have been keeping very busy and have not misbehaved with anyone.”

Manabi Bandyopadhyay, principal of Dhola Mahavidyalaya and vice chairperson of West Bengal Transgender Persons Development Board, has strongly reacted to the incident. “The teacher has earned this designation of an assistant teacher in her school by merit of her skill. She immediately called me up to narrate the incident. This is a ploy people use to discriminate and isolate transgenders so that they finally quit their job after being humiliated. Transgenders are not seen in government jobs because of this oppression! With my 35 years of experience, I know how this behaviour can psychologically impact a person. This is a form of violence that we all need to stand up against,” Bandyopadhyay said.