GUWAHATI: On June 9, like any other teenager, Aditi (name changed), a trans girl, went on a family outing with her parents, donned swimwear, and jumped into the pool to beat the heat. She posted photographs of the outing on her private social media account, like any other teenager might do.
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Little did she know that one photograph on her personal account might jeopardise her right to education.
Aditi, a class 11 student of South Point School in Guwahati, received a phone call on June 10 at 9 PM informing her that she had been expelled. The reason: Aditi posted photographs on her private social media account in swimwear from her family outing.
GPlus reached out to Aditi’s mother for more details. Speaking to GPlus, the mother said, “On June 9, we went for a family outing where Aditi wore swimwear. She took a photograph like any other teenager and later posted it on her social media handle. Everything was fine until later the next day when I received a call from the principal saying she can’t come to school anymore. He said what my daughter did was disgusting and immoral and he didn’t want her to continue her education at the school.”
“We were taken aback by the incident. The school was in such a hurry to expel Aditi that they even refunded the entire amount we had paid,” the mother further said.
However, the principal, Krishnanjan Chanda, offered a different perspective, stating, “Aditi has been studying in our school since she was 10 years old, and everything was fine. When she took admission to Class 11, she started to come to school with piercings and tattoos. She also uploaded some photographs that were not well-received by the guardians.”
“The parents applied for a transfer certificate (TC), and we obliged. She is no longer a student of our school,” the principal added.
GPlus also spoke to Aditi, the victim in this scenario. She said, “I had uploaded the photographs on my private Instagram account. But I know there are people from school who were stalking me and circulating screenshots of my photographs, which attracted unwanted attention.”
The mother highlighted that this was not the first time Aditi faced bullying at this school, which Aditi confirmed.
“When I was in Class 9, a boy student tried to tear off my clothes. After I complained, he was only sent home with a warning,” Aditi said.
However, when GPlus asked the principal about the incident, he claimed that there had been minor incidents where she was called names, which were addressed but nothing as serious as she described happened on school grounds.
The mother further noted that the principal had said piercings and tattoos were not allowed. According to her, the principal allegedly mentioned to the media that Aditi’s tattoo was one reason she was confronted, but her mother’s statement contradicts this.
“My daughter got the tattoo when she was in Class 9, and these issues were never highlighted to us. Suddenly, we are being told this is one of the reasons for her expulsion. If that’s the case, why wasn’t it mentioned in the school rule book? If it was, I would have understood.”
Vice Chairperson of State Transgender Welfare Board, Assam Rituparna Neog said, “This is not at all acceptable. We have issued a letter to the school. We want strict measures to be taken across the State so that nothing of this sort is ever repeated in any educational institute ever.”
Incidentally, Aditi’s fate unfolded in June, the Pride Month when every organisation, brand, and institution celebrates the LGBTQ+ community.