Exclusion of LGBT From Higher Education: Perceptions of Different Stakeholders

Introduction

The first documented usage of the word homosexual in literature is found in a German pamphlet published anonymously by Austrian-born writer Karl-Maria Kertbeny in 1869. Homosexual is a Greek and Latin hybrid term, with the initial element, taken from the Greek where in homos means “same”, not is related to the Latin homo meaning “man” as in Homo sapiens. It denotes acts and attachments of sexual nature, such as lesbianism, between individuals of the same sex.

Throughout history LGBT icons and allies have tried to establish various institutions to educate individuals. There are many horrific incidents regarding the LGBT community throughout history that the general public is unaware of till this day. Looking at the ground realities in India it is beyond doubt that India is far behind on the path to inclusivity of LGBT in education. There have been a few researches in the field of homosexuality but nothing groundbreaking has come of it. In 1977, Shakuntala Devi published India's first study on homosexuality in 1977. She wrote the book The World of Homosexuals. In 2015, Dr. Manabi Bandopadhyay, was appointed as the first openly transgender principal of Krishna Nagar Women's College in Nadia, West Bengal. She received a Ph.D,making her the first transgender person in West Bengal to achieve the honour. In the year 1995, Dr. Manabi launched Ob-Manab, a magazine, especially made for transgender. Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil is India’s first openly gay royal. Before openly coming out in 2006, he underwent years of grueling conversion therapy and suffered in silence. He has been a vocal advocate for homosexuality and AIDS awareness and much of his advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights continues to primarily revolve around eradicating the stigma around homosexuality. Laxmi Narayan Tripathi is a well known transgender rights activist. In 2002, she was appointed as the president of DAI Welfare Society, a Mumbai-based organization that works for the transgender community. In 2007, Laxmi started a non-profit organization, Astitva, for the welfare of sexual minorities in India. Astitva tackles issues related to AIDS awareness and human rights in Thane and Mumbai.She represented Asia Pacific at the United Nations in 2008 wherein she addressed the challenges that sexual minorities face in society. She launched the Indian Super Queen beauty pageant in 2010.She is a leading voice of change for the transgender movement. In 2014, the Supreme Court of India recognized transgender people as the 'third gender,' putting an end to their long quest for recognition. India also was witness to the struggle of the LGBT community when homosexuality was classified as a criminal offence. After a long battle in court it was finally de-criminalized by the court in the case contested between Navtej Singh Johar & others Vs the Union of India. After decriminalization of homosexuality in India in 2018, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act was passed in the year 2019 in India. However, India has a long road ahead with respect to inclusion of LGBT in education. It is well established that education works towards bridging the differences among individuals and in this case it is about changing mindsets through education. Yet, one of the main reasons for the low number of LGBT students in higher education is their inability to relate to educational settings. LGBT community/ people still remain widely unaccepted. There persist a lot of misconceptions and myths regarding the identification and recognition of LGBT persons. They are the victims of negligence and are denied even basic fundamental rights like education. When inclusivity is studied in education there is hardly any mention of the LBGT, neither is there any well founded literature. Classroom discourse, textbooks, curricula contain examples that remain heterosexual and the percentage of LGBT learners in education stays to be minuscule. Perceptions of majority administrators, teachers, students and parents continue to remain skewed even in the often glorified 21^st century world of education. Individuals have different perspectives about the LGBT and that reflects in their preparation for inclusion. Most educational institutions in India are not ready for the inclusion of LGBT, especially schools. The aim of this study was to examine the mindsets of stakeholders who engage with higher education institutions in particular.