State Women’s Commission Chairperson P. Sathidevi has stressed the need for the student community to realise that there are several individuals among them with varied gender status and sexuality, and that they should be considered as citizens of the country with equal rights.
Inaugurating ‘Anushchetham 15’ (Article-15), a two-day residential camp for NSS volunteers organised by the NSS unit of Government Law College, Kozhikode, on Saturday, she pointed out that though the LGBTIQA+ community constitutes less than 2% of the Indian population, the country belonged to them as well, and hence, the constitutional rights too.
“The recent developments related to the community have forced us to even rewrite some old laws in the Indian Penal Code,” she said, adding that gender was not superficial, and that differing sexualities were not “diseases” that could be cured.
Law college alumni association president Shyam Padman said ignorance of law was not an excuse to violate it and urged students to keep discussing unknown topics. In his presidential address, Principal N. Krishnakumar said the camp had been named after Article 15, as it states not to differentiate between citizens based on religion, caste, creed, language, or gender.
The camp attended by student volunteers from over 60 colleges in the district aims to create awareness about the queer community and the laws pertaining to them. Day one of the camp comprised a seminar on the topic ‘From Prejudice to Pride’, with transgender activist Sheethal Shyam, Arjun P.C. of Government Medical College, Kozhikode, and Anees P.K., Assistant Professor, Government Law College, as speakers. NSS national trainer Brahmanayakam Mahadevan interacted with students following the screening of the movie Moothon directed by Geethu Mohandas.
Queer activists Riya Isha, Ponnu Ima, Navya Enn, and Aadhi will attend an interactive session on Sunday. Cultural programmes, debates, and games are also part of the camp.
