Anu Kuruvilla By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: From being harassed all her life to representing the transgender community at the students’ union, Daya Gayathri has come a long way. The second-year BA Malayalam student became the first member of the transgender community to be nominated to the Maharaja’s College students’ union, as a representative of her community. Daya, who is well known in the theatre circles, talks to Express about the barriers she had to overcome to reach this point in her life. Was it easy getting admitted to the course? It must have not been a smooth ride. Yes, it was not. But, this is not my first time in a college. I was a BA Economics student at Maharaja’s College in the 2013-16 period. However, there was a difference then. I had not yet come out as a transgender. It was a very confusing phase for me. I was unable to identify my actual gender and dressed in boy’s clothes. But, my mannerisms were very feminine and this landed me in trouble with other students who ridiculed me. But, the students at Maharaja’s College were bearable unlike those at Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) at Kalady. Before joining Maharaja’s College, I had applied for the BA Economics at SSUS in 2012. But, the harassment there made my life a hell. So, I discontinued. Deciding to continue with studies was indeed a great decision. Yes, I wanted to do BA Malayalam but had inhibitions. However, after the sex-change surgery, my adoptive mother encouraged me to continue my studies. Also, the GO passed by the state government reserving seats for students from the transgender community helped. The strong presence of SFI in Maharaja’s College was an encouragement. Did you put in your nomination for the post? No, I didn’t. It was a decision taken by the SFI leaders. When a suggestion came up about having a representative for the transgender community in the students’ union, I told them to select a person who deserves the post.

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