It will be for the first time that members of the transgender community will be participating in a State-level competition. more-in For the first time in the State, members of the transgender community will get an opportunity to contest in the three-day State-level fest of the Kerala State Literacy Mission, scheduled to begin here on December 27. Accordingly, they can take part in six events, including stage and off-stage ones, along with other competitors. Literacy mission Assistant Director K. Ayyappan Nair said it was for the first time that members of the TG community would be participating in a State-level competition along with other contestants and added that it would lead to their social and cultural empowerment. He noted that members of the community were being excluded from the State-level Keralotsavam and other events hosted by the Education Department. The events open for them include elocution, essay writing, story writing, versification, painting, and group dance. More stage events will be added in the next edition of the festival. Equivalency courses Meanwhile, around 900 TG individuals have expressed willingness to attend the literacy mission’s equivalency courses. More than 50 members are at present attending various continuing education programmes. The number is expected to go up with the announcement of the fresh batch of higher secondary equivalency learners by January. Mr. Ayyappan said migrant labourers would also be allowed to participate in the literacy mission festival next year. At present, migrant labourers who are part of the mission’s equivalency learning programme are mostly from Ernakulam district. To begin with, a district-level contest was held for them in Ernakulam in which their participation was encouraging. Their representatives will be participating in the State-level rally ahead of the festival.

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