Kolkata school (India) starts LGBTQIA club ; Mumbai: Schools embrace inclusivity, adopt gender-neutral uniforms, language

Kolkata school (India) starts LGBTQIA club

South City International School is arguably the first institution in the city of Kolkata that has started an LGBTQIA club. The club, named Gender and Equality, has members from classes IX to XII and aims to spread “social awareness” both on campus and outside at a time when many people are still judgmental about gender identities. The club does not push or expect any student to “come out” but the presence of such a club in the school gives them more “self-esteem”, a teacher said.

Mumbai: Schools embrace inclusivity, adopt gender-neutral uniforms, language

No more “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!” at the annual day function at Birla Open Minds International School from now on. The school in Walkeshwar and its 138 branches across the country have decided to do away with its traditional greeting at events and meetings by replacing it with gender-neutral alternatives such as “Dear guests” or “Hello everyone” as a step towards inclusivity.

Birla Open Minds isn’t the only one to bin gender stereotypes in school routines and practices. The Aditya Birla World Academy (ABWA) is introducing gender-neutral uniforms for the upcoming academic year where students regardless of their birth gender can choose between trousers or ‘skorts’ (hybrid of a skirt and shorts) as their uniform if they so desire.

In an email to parents recently, principal Radhika Sinha described their new way forward as a move to “reduce gender differentiation in uniforms so that students of various genders, gender non-conforming, or questioning gender can feel safe discovering and expressing themselves at the school”.

The school in Tardeo — which made a significant stride last year by setting up Rainbow Club (an LGBTQIA+ support group led by the student body and guided by teachers) and currently glowing in its new identity as a “gender inclusive school” — also laid out an action plan recently in celebration of the Pride month that lists LGBTQIA+ history and activism in classroom discussions, shifts in school norms such as allowing students to choose the length of their hair “as long as it is neatly tied up” and regular workshops with teachers and parents as part of what they call a “move away from the cis heteronormative environment in the education world”.

Recently a 13-member contingent of educators and heads of educational institutions in the city were motivated to take ‘Pride’ to the schools they mentor or teach in, especially after they came together in April for a round table with members of the LGBTQIA+ community and learn how they could create less-hostile experiences in the classroom.

Some other schools that are actively promoting the queer community include Bombay Scottish School, Oberoi International School among others.