Grace Banu

Grace Banu is a Dalit and transgender activist. She was the first transgender person to be admitted to an engineering college in the state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2014, she discontinued her studies at Sri Krishna College of Engineering. She lives in the Thoothukudi district,[1] Tamil Nadu.

Dalit and transgender activist Grace Banu from Tamil Nadu, India

Early life

Banu was born and raised in Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu.[2] A Dalit, she says that from early in her schooldays she was not allowed to attend the regular hours of 9.30 am to 4 pm.[3]

She was told that in order to attend school she had to agree to come in to school at 10 am, after all the other students were in and settled, and leave at 3.30 pm before others finished. Other students were told that they would be punished if they interacted with her. This kind of untouchability, based on both her caste and gender identity, caused her to attempt suicide and give up on the idea of finishing school.[4] Banu's family rejected her in 2008 when she told them of her gender identity.[5]

Despite financial difficulties and discrimination from classmates and teachers, Banu undertook a Diploma in Computer Engineering.[6][4]

She was the first transgender person to be admitted to an engineering college in the state of Tamil Nadu.[7] Banu struggled financially to remain in college, in part because she was not receiving any support from her family at the time. Responding to a call for help, a local businessman launched an online campaign raising funds for her to complete the course.[8] Her adopted daughter Tharika Banu is also first to attend secondary education as a transgender person in India.[9]

Professional life

After completing her Diploma with honours (95%), Banu was selected to work for a software firm when she had excelled at a campus interview. She worked as a programmer until she quit due to alleged discrimination.[6]

She filed a Right to Information (RTI) to find out if Anna University accepted transgender students. On finding out that they did not, she applied against their rules anyway and was given admission to a private affiliated college, Sri Krishna College of Engineering.[7]

Activism

Banu believes that ultimately Reservation, dedicated places for members of different groups, is key to the uplift of transgender people. "No amount of temporary governmental and non-governmental schemes can have the transgenerational impact that reservations can have. Reservations are the only way," she says.[10] She has been advocating for Dalit and transgender rights, demanding along with other transgender people for reservation based on gender identity as well as caste.[11][12][13]

Banu insists that the intersectionality of these oppressions matter. She believes that Dalits can be transphobic and that the transgender community replicates structures of caste privilege. She says that upper-caste transgender people bring Brahminism into transgender cultural, community and organizing spaces. Despite being pressed, upper-caste transgender women dominate all the positions of leadership, call the shots and define the needs for the whole community."[10] Denying caste in the transgender community is like "hiding a whole pumpkin in a plate of rice," she says.[10]

Banu was active in voicing concerns and questioning the death of a fellow trans woman named Tara (Thara), who burned to death in Chennai.[14][15]

Tharika Banu

Tharika Banu is the first registered transgender person[16][17] to complete her secondary education in Tamil Nadu.[18][19][20] She was denied admission into college but her adoptive mother and transgender activist Grace Banu filed a case in Madras High Court to fight for her.[21][22]

She studied until Class 11 in a government school there. Her parents refused to accept her when they came to know that she was a transgender woman. After that, the bullying she fell victim to in school became unbearable.[23] In 2013, Tharika, ran away from her home in the Thoothukudi district, where she did not feel accepted or comfortable. She arrived in Chennai, where she was legally adopted by transgender activist Grace Banu.[24] Grace helped her to get an official identification, name change and a sex reassignment surgery and made it possible for Tharika to finish her education.

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See also

References
  1. Kumar, S. Vijay; R, Aditi (8 April 2017). "Transgenders eager to don the police uniform". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  2. "Anna University admits transgender in engg course". Deccan Herald. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  3. Dalit Camera (19 July 2016). ""Casteism Very Much Exists Among Trans* People": Video Interview With Grace Banu". Feminism in India. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  4. Krishnan, Madhuvanti S. "Shamed on campus". The Hindu.
  5. "Tamil Nadu's First Transgender Engineering Student Is Struggling For Money To Complete Studies". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  6. "Here's how you can help Tamil Nadu's first transgender engineering student". DNA India. 21 November 2015.
  7. Scott, D. J. Walter. "First transgender in Tamil Nadu gets engineering seat". The Hindu. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  8. "First transgender person to get engineering seat in TN now has no money to graduate, help her". The News Minute. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  9. "Tamil Nadu: Tharika Banu, a transgender, pass 12th exams, wants to become a doctor". The Indian Express. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  10. Dalit Camera (2 July 2016), Grace Banu - India's first transgender engineering student, & activist, retrieved 15 April 2017
  11. Murali, A. Revathi As told to Nandini (21 November 2016). Life in Trans Activism, A. Zubaan. ISBN 9789385932137.
  12. "Activists demand revised draft of transgender bill". DNA India. 6 November 2016.
  13. Shreya Ila Anasuya. "Merely celebrating the exceptional achievements of trans-people conceals their struggle". Yahoo News. Scroll.in.
  14. "Foul play alleged in Transgender Death". The Hindu. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  15. "Moral policing in Kerala to clashes in Kashmir: How FB Live is changing the way we tell stories". The News Minute. 23 February 2017.
  16. "Tamil Nadu HSC results 2017: 1st registered transgender to clear exam hopes to become doctor - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  17. "तमिलनाडु : बोर्ड परीक्षा पास करने वाली पहली रजिस्टर्ड ट्रांसजेंडर बनी तारिका - Navbharat Times". Navbharat Times. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  18. "First transgender to finish +2 in TN, Tharika Banu moves HC after being denied med seat to study Siddha". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  19. "#GoodNews: Transgender Woman in TN Fought for a Medical Seat & Won". The Quint. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  20. "Chennai: Transgender wins battle for higher education". deccanchronicle.com/. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  21. "Tharika Banu, TN's Ist transgender to clear Class 12 exams, wants to become a doctor". oneindia.com. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  22. "A Transgender Gets a Chance to Study Medicine - Thanks to This Judge". The Better India. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  23. "Meet Tharika Banu, TN transgender woman who fought for and won a medical seat". The News Minute. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  24. "Tamil Nadu: Tharika Banu, a transgender, pass 12th exams, wants to become a doctor". The Indian Express. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
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