Nepali transgender woman among those recognised for seeking rights for safe, quality education

KATHMANDU: Rukshana Kapali, a Nepali transgender woman activist, has been recognised as one of six LGBTQ+ young activists, considering their personal journey and contributions to uplift the wider community in their respective societies.

UN Girls's Education Initiative (UNGEI) has listed six such activists who have been raising their voices for the right to safe and quality education for LGBTQ+ learners.

https://twitter.com/UNGEI/status/1277678618009899010?s=19

By acknowledging her own struggles in being enrolled as a graduate student in college, Kapali highlights the problems faced by LGBTQ+ persons in the field of academics and education, among others. She stresses on how laws and policies of the country pose as primary obstacles in realising their educational goals.

“This whole series of documenting my journey of struggle with legislation and policy in Nepal as a trans person began as I submitted my registration form for a Bachelor Degree. For around three years I went through a series of legal messes with laws and policies that do not address the needs of trans people. The reason I am not getting enrollment to the university is part of a broader problem where trans people are not allowed to change their papers with their preferred name and gender markers,” Kapali shares in her blog.

The report published in medium.com lists five other LGBTQ+ activists from various parts of the world honouring their continuous endeavours towards creating a more just and safe environment for LGBTQ+ people.

Sherenté, 19, Indigenous Two Spirit youth, member of the Narragansett tribe (United States); David from Ecuador; Georgia, 20, from Czech Republic; Sadam Hanjabam from Manipur, India; and Raquel, 23, from Mexico are those recognised alongside Kapali.

All of them share a common ground upon which they stand seeking the same right to safe and quality education for LGBTQ+ people which is, more often than not, taken for granted by the others.