Nishu* remembers the exhaustion. Every day, they would. return from school, absolutely spent from pretending to be a boy for hours. "I hated the games period. Boys used to wrestle and josh around while they made fun of me for being effeminate. I was absolutely isolated most of my school life," they said.
Not just at school, every-day ridicule in their joint-family forced Nishu to escape Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, to Delhi for higher education. "It was like a breath of fresh air to join a formal institution and still be able to express your sexuality openly, away from home."
While Nishu found an escape, the trauma of mockery and stigmatisation at school continues to affect the LGBTQIA+ community, which includes those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual. transgender, queer, intersex or asexual.
Identifying the need for reform, two private schools in India are spearheading the cause not by just educating children about the community but also supporting those who are part of it. High school students of Tagore International School, Delhi and Calcutta International School in Kolkata, West Bengal are breaking taboos around LGBTQIA+ discussions, setting up support groups on campus.
TIS's support group-Breaking Barriers started in 2013 and has been addressing the problems stereotyping and prejudices from a very young age. Jiya Chawla joined it as a 13-year-old and has been an active ally.
Denne historien er fra February 2023-utgaven av Careers 360.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra February 2023-utgaven av Careers 360.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The 50 colleges in 5 countries where most Indians go for MBBS abroad
Data on countries and colleges from the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE) 2022 - the latest available - shows that most Indians who completed medical degrees abroad and wrote the FMGE went to five countries.
Foreign medical colleges: Look before you leap
A close look at foreign medical colleges that thousands of Indians have graduated from shows that many are unaccredited, don’t have hospitals or even their own websites
'Either I clear FMGE or leave the country'
After spending lakhs on MBBS degrees abroad, thousands spend years trying to clear the FMGE. That is the only option for Indian graduates of foreign medical colleges to build a career in India
Why hundreds of nursing graduates leave India each year
There has been an increase in nursing institutes over the past two decades but policy gaps, lax regulations, poor pay and opportunities are pushing a large number of nursing staff to seek opportunities abroad
In Kashmir, why NEET and JEE candidates flock to private reading halls to prepare for exams
These are accessible round-the-clock, even on public holidays, have private cabins and booths, kitchen, discussion area and some, even places for napping
Battling despair and depression in medical school
Long hours, bullying, lack of support make a difficult programme tougher for medical students. They hope for clear guidelines from the NMC
This father-daughter duo uncovered a scam in NEET admissions in West Bengal
Several generalcategory students had secured admission in medical colleges with forged ST certificates. Ishita Soren spotted the names, and her father followed up
'Forced to take up bonded labour
There's massive resistance to a state policy in Karnataka that requires even private medical college graduates to do one year's mandatory rural service
‘A routine circus': PG medical students lobby, move court to get stipends
Despite NMC orders, many medical colleges still seriously underpay resident doctors and threaten them into silence. In government colleges, stipends can be delayed for months
Why Mizoram wants centre to take over its only medical college
Mizoram got its first state medical college in 2018. In 2023, it asked the union government to take over. Mixed up in this are questions of funding, MBBS seat distribution