When you first hear the word gender, what first comes to your mind? The question is whether the baby is a boy or a girl.This is the most dangerous question in the world because this tries to define our whole life. This was stated by Rituparna Neog, a Tata Institute of Social Science graduate and Associate Chairperson of State Transgender Welfare Board Assam. Herself a transgender, Rituparna was addressing an interactive session on “Redefining Gender Identities in the 21st Century: Challenges and Way Forward” at the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya here today. The session was organized by the Department of Sociology USTM.
Addressing a hall packed with young students, the resource person Rituparna Neog who has personally experienced gender-related identity conflicts, stated, “Why do we need to talk about gender? There are different problems and issues in society and it is around gender. We need to redefine gender and need to talk about it.”
In an enthusiastic and enlightening session, Rituparna said, “When we come to know that there is a newborn baby in someone’s home, the first question we ask is boy or girl? I say that this is the most dangerous question in the world. Why? Because this tries to define our whole life. When everyone asks whether the baby is a boy or girl no one in this world says that a new life has just arrived in this world, or a new potentiality has just arrived which can change the whole world. Nobody tries to think like that. The question defines our whole life—who will eat what, who will be able to study in what kind of institute, who will get an education, who will do what kind of work, who will go outside home, who will remain confined in the home, who will wear what kind of dress and very many questions. Who will be the doctor, who will be the engineer and who will be a TET teacher is also decided”.
She said that the question is so dangerous that it decides what kind of opportunity who will get—who will get property and who will not. The question suffocates someone’s life so much that one is bound to take away his or her life. Society expectsthat boys have to be strong always, they have to earn as much as they can, and even girls are expected to look in certain ways otherwise they are not women enough. A girl is not supposed to stand in the society because she is ugly. And it’s not just about women, it’s not just about the transgenders but also the boys –it’s about everyone. It’s related to gender, something which has been socially constructed, she added.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof GD Sharma, Vice Chancellor of USTM said, “The transgenderwho is commonly treated as an outcastneeds societal acceptance. Being transgender is a biological issue and the person is not responsible for that. In a country where the education level is low, these things are creating problems. “We need to respect humanity, irrespective of male or female or transgender”, he said. Earlier, the welcome address was delivered by Dr RK Sharma, Advisor USTM.
