Amitha Reji George, Pune
In a move to support and provide equal opportunities to the transgender community, State health minister Veena George has announced that one seat each will be reserved for students from the community in B.Sc Nursing and general nursing courses.
“This government has been making major strides towards the empowerment of the transgender community. This step is a continuation of that process to ensure the involvement of the community in the state’s health sector,” the minister wrote on her Facebook handle. “This is for the first time in the history (of the state) that reservation has been granted for transgenders in the field of nursing,” she said.
In 2018, Kerala Government had taken a step to include transgender persons in the mainstream by announcing reservation for students pursuing degrees in the Arts and Sciences.
The transgender community and its allies in Kerala welcomed the historic decision. Anil A, a queer ally, congratulated George for her intervention.“We (transgender students) have reservations in arts and science colleges. But admissions to professional courses such as MBBS and BTech based on a common entrance test do not have seats reserved for transgender students,” he told South First.“It is the first time that such a reservation has been introduced in Kerala. A nursing student had approached the minister seeking an opportunity to pursue a career in nursing. The student can pursue nursing this year. This is a historic development as far as transgender rights are concerned,” Anil added