KOCHI: Her last strand of hope to find a government job was snuffed out by four monotonously typed out words- ‘TRANSGENDER option not available’.
When Anu Bose, a transwoman, got a letter from the Public Service Commission (PSC) at the fag end of 2016, she hardly knew it would be a requiem for her dreams.
An MSc Maths grad, Anu was teaching at a prominent engineering college in Kochi until 2014. “I left my job at the college after I was shoved around for being ‘comfortable in my skin’. But my decision to apply for PSC exams in my male identity proved a nightmare,” she told ‘Express’.
“Most of the exam centres for men were in far-flung areas. I was jeered at in buses, derided by other candidates, and even harried by exam supervisors. That was the last straw. I took up counselling, changed my name and identity and filed a request with the PSC in 2016,” the 32-year-old said.
Clearly oblivious to the landmark transgender policy unveiled in the state, the Public Service Commission responded with unusual alacrity. The curtly-worded letter sent by the Under Secretary of the commission stated, “The existing PSC rules do not have any provision to accept the applications of TGs to government jobs. The candidate may approach the state government.”
States like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are more welcoming and sensitive to issues of transgenders. “But I chose to stay back in my homeland- the ‘progressive’ and ‘literate’ Kerala. Today, I regret the decision to the core,” Anu said with a cold sigh.
Clarifying the commission’s stand, PSC member R Parvathy Devi said: “Employment notification can be issued only based on the Kerala State and Subordinate Service Rules (KS and SSR). Either the government or the respective departments should amend the rules into include the TG community into the existing gender binary system used to vet candidates. We will take the issue with the government.”
A senior officer with the PSC on condition of anonymity said: “Tamil Nadu, where an executive order was issued to permit the alternate genders to appear for examinations conducted by TNPSC, UPSC and SSC, is a precedent worth emulating.”
According to rights activist Sheetal Shyam, a complaint was filed with the State Human Rights Commission in this regard. No action has been taken so far. “They are denying our inalienable right to work,” she said.
Mini Antony, secretary, Social Welfare Department said they haven’t received any complaint in this regard, but promised to look into the issue and bring it to the government’s attention.
“Ironically, the sexual minority continues to languish in the margins of mainstream in a state which takes pride in having unveiled the first transgender policy in the country,” said Mercy Alexander, Sakhi Women’s Resource Centre. Anu’s plight is symptomatic of a larger malaise in the system and our perception. The policy remains a mere lip service, she said
Pushed into involuntary unemployment, today, the only thing keeping Anu going is the hope of getting a sex realignment surgery.
She believes it is the last rite of passage to being a transwoman. “The system failed me. All I have now is my identity. I just want to get that surgery done,” she said.