Thanks to extensive media coverage and a wave of awareness campaigns the Indian transgender community is slowly gaining respect across the nation. In a revolutionary new move, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) in Tamil Nadu has decided to offer all its transgender students a free education right from the Undergraduate to the Doctorate level. The decision will come into effect at the beginning of the next academic year and has been designed to improve the economic and social well-being of the trans community.

The scheme aims to provide a viable option for those who have faced rejection from their families and are struggling to make ends meet. For so many, begging has become the norm because the opportunities to obtain an education or even gain meaningful employment is denied. The MSU Vice-chancellor Dr. Krishnan Baskar voiced his opinion on the matter saying, “If we can create a favourable condition for acquiring better educational qualifications, it will enable them to occupy enviable positions in government or private institutions, and hence, the MSU has taken an initiative in this direction.”

They have even given instructions to staff to make the experience as inclusive as possible and are even installing gender neutral bathroom facilities for the students and visitors. Tamil Nadu has always been ahead of the pack when it comes to the LGBTQ community, whether it was hosting the first Pride Parade in 2009 or appointing the first transgener Sub-inspector, they are always conscious of the impact these actions will have on a much maligned community. This is a huge step for the Indian LGBTQ movement and the access to education will make all the difference in the world.

Representational feature image via Huffington Post