HYDERABAD: In a move aimed at gender equity, Hyderabad-based NALSAR University has announced a progressive policy of allotting gender neutral space as rooms for students who self-identify themselves as members of the LGBTQI+ community. The university took to its official Twitter handle announcing that this move will pave way for gender-neutral hostels in due course.
They have allocated the ground floor of Girls Hostel 6 as the gender neutral space. Over and above, they are also going making common public spaces gender neutral by allocating a washroom in the ground floor of the academic block as gender-neutral washroom.
“The university already has an interim policy in place to address inclusivity concerns of the LGBTQI+ community and is in the process of drafting a final policy,” said a tweet from the university.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Faizan Mustafa stated that NALSAR believes in inclusive education. “I have involved students in my administration and their creative ideas have helped in coming up with several progressive, liberal and futuristic policies,” he said.
The move has won praise and concerns alike. While one section has called the move a step in right direction making many transgender persons and LGBTQI+ persons feel safer in educational institutions, some are concerned with difficulty in regulating violence, if any, in such spaces.
It is crucial to note here that while gender neutral spaces are being created, at the same time gender hostels, washrooms will continue to exist giving safe options to all students.