HYDERABAD: The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (Nalsar) is set to become India's first fully gender-neutral educational institution. It has introduced a policy of inclusive education for gender and sexual minorities.
Nalsar officials said most Indian universities don't have gender-neutral spaces such as hostels and washrooms. As part of its policy, the law school would have gender-neutral hostels, leading the way for inclusive campuses for the LGBTQ+ community, of which there are a handful on campus. It also has a "Nalsar Queer Collective".
"We encourage self-identification wherein students can identify themselves without being recognised through the assigned genders. We would acknowledge the declaration by the students to respect their privacy and autonomy and would also keep it secure from their parents and guardians if need be," Nalsar vice-chancellor Faizan Mustafa said.
He added that the institution already has an interim policy in place and is in the process of finalising a draft policy to promote inclusive education on campus. The policy will be implemented once it is approved by all the academic bodies within the institution.
The institution has also done away with gender salutations such as "Miss" and "Mr" on their degree certificates.
It will no longer have male/female hostels but gender-neutral ones."We have already earmarked the ground floor of the girls' hostel-6 as a gender-neutral space with rooms allotted to students self-identifying as members of the LGBTQ+ community. The washroom on the ground floor of the academic block has also been designated as a gender-neutral washroom," said Mustafa.
The institution will have a no-discrimination policy in place wherein students will not be discriminated based on their dressing choices, hairstyles, etc. Students scholarships would reasonably accommodate those from the LGBTQ+ community. Apart from this, special courses would be introduced on gender and sexual minorities to enhance sensitisation among students.
"We would also sensitise our teaching and non-teaching staff, watchmen and other service providers to make it a fully inclusive campus," said Mustafa.
