Beyond Binaries: Understanding Sexual Identities and Queer Rights Issues in India

Beyond Binaries: Understanding Sexual Identities and Queer Rights Issues in India | An Online International Summer School Program | A Five-Day Immersive Online Certificate Training Course | June 2023 | IMPRI #WebPolicyLearning

Teaser: https://youtu.be/mkD1N0mkkxQ

On the occasion of Pride Month 2023, #IMPRI Gender Impact Studies Center (GISC), IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi, invites you to #WebPolicyLearning

An Online International Summer School Program
A Five-Day Immersive Online Certificate Training Course on

Beyond Binaries:
Understanding Sexual Identities and
Queer Rights Issues in India

Details of the #WebPolicyLearning:
Dates: June (19, 20, 21, 22, 23), 2023
Time: 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. IST
Platform: Zoom
Course Fee: INR 5000 (inclusive of GST)
Discounted Fee: For Professionals: INR 4000 | For Students: INR 3000
Additionally, Bulk Discounts can be availed for groups of more than 5 participants

Registration Form: https://forms.gle/zCmQGrajfc9bR3T77

Payment of Course Fee-
Razorpay | For Professionals: https://rzp.io/l/impribb
Razorpay | For Students: https://rzp.io/l/impribbs

Alternatively, you can use any payment method from here:
https://www.impriindia.com/payment-details/

NOTE: Please don’t proceed to pay without filling out the registration form given above. For queries, write to: learningatimpri@gmail.com
Teaser: https://youtu.be/mkD1N0mkkxQ

About

“What is most important is to cease legislating for all lives what is liveable only for some, and similarly, to refrain from proscribing for all lives what is unlivable for some.”
–Judith Butler, Undoing Gender

In the past decade, India has fought its prejudices to establish a more diverse and inclusive welfare society for people from the LGBTQ+ community with its recognition of the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill in 2014, and in 2017, with the SC recognising sexual orientation as protected under the fundamental right to privacy. The landmark judgement of 2018 that decriminalised homosexuality and the 2022 ruling that entitled unmarried partners or same-sex couples to welfare benefits come as a beacon of hope in establishing a diverse, inclusive and progressive India. However, the battle continues as we grapple with social prejudices, stigma and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.

There are plenty of areas to explore to fully comprehend the psychological distress that sexual minorities are often subject to and to also navigate through some of the ever-changing legal debates on issues such as gender dysphoria, trans health, and queer legal reforms, among others. In the same context,  same-sex unions still do not have any legal backing, and policymakers have long grappled with the question of whether India will become the second nation in South Asia to legalise it after Taiwan.

This Five-Day Immersive Online Certificate Training Course will deconstruct the dichotomies that exist within the understanding of sexuality and gender and enlighten the participants with the nuances of sexuality, gender and queer identity issues and rights in India. This course will take a methodological approach to understanding the entrenched issues of discrimination at school, colleges, in the workplace and in interpersonal relationships where people from the community continue to face abuse, including physical violence, social isolation, humiliation, and death threats from society and family alike. The horizons of the course will extend to include health disparities and exacerbating global inequalities in this domain. Questions of inclusivity and legalisation will be dealt with in recognition of their rights. 

Apart from being a lecture series, the course will provide a safe space where consent is at its core and will include film discussions and interactive sessions where participants can interact openly with the panelists and each other. 

This course will be conducted by expert resource persons comprising legal practitioners, civil society activists, professionals, and academics. In all its attempts to emerge as a global power, it is high time India sets an example on the international stage of the value of building a positive, discrimination-free, and safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. 

For Whom

This course is for anyone with a keen interest in Sexuality, Gender and Queer studies and issues. Working professionals, practitioners, civil society members, health workers, activists, researchers, post-graduate and undergraduate students, and those interested would benefit from this course.

Benefits of Taking the Course

Participants would:
• Learn from globally and nationally renowned thematic experts and practitioners
• Gain first-hand insights and networking opportunities
• Get course outline and reading list from the experts for learning
• Get access to session videos for 15 days
• Receive a certificate of completion
• Have the opportunity to publish their essays on the IMPRI Insights Blog, which features the articles of eminent people from around the globe.

Upon successful completion of the program, each participant will be awarded a Certificate of Completion.

Program Experts

Chair: Prof Vibhuti Patel, Visiting Distinguished Professor, IMPRI

Convener: Dr Simi Mehta, CEO & Editorial Director, IMPRI

Day 1 | June 19, 2023
Theme: History & Political Dimensions

Maya Awasthy, Co-founder Transgender Welfare Equity and Empowerment Trust (tweet) Foundation
Topic: Historical Aspects of Trans Lives in India

Prof Vibhuti Patel, Visiting Distinguished Professor, IMPRI
Topic: Body Normativity and Sexuality

Dr Kaustav Padmapati, Assistant Professor (Senior Scale) School of Modern Media, UPES Dehradun
Topic: Nonbinary Identity & Transgenders in India: Importance of Queer Movement in the Socio-Cultural Space of Northeast India

Sonal Giani, Senior Technical Advisor, Diversity and Inclusion, South Asia Region, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), New Delhi; Independent Filmmaker
Topic: Situational Analysis and Needs Assessment of Lesbian, Bisexual Womxn, and Transmasculine Community in India

Day 2 | June 20, 2023
Theme: Queer Politics in Contemporary Political Atmosphere

Rituparna Neog, Queer Rights Activist; Founder & Director, Akam Foundation, Queer Intersectional Feminist, Storyteller
Topic: Queerness, Rural Reality and Movement Building from Rural Perspective: Mobilisation of Queer Community & Intervention with a Focus on Rural India

Prof Pushpesh Kumar, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Hyderabad
Topic: Queer Marxism

Aroh Akunth, Writer- Performer
Topic: Anti-caste Theories on Gender

Vikramaditya Sahai, Teacher & Researcher, Centre for Law and Policy Research, New Delhi
Topic: A History of Trans as Gender

Day 3 | June 21, 2023
Theme: Social & Health Dimensions

Prof Mala Ramanathan, Professor, Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, SCTIMST, Thiruvananthapuram; Working Editor, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics (IJME)
Topic: Attempting to Measure Sex, Gender and Sexual Identities in Varying Contexts, including Research

Dr Aqsa Shaikh, Associate Professor, Community Medicine, Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, New Delhi
Topic: Healthcare of Transgender and Non-Binary Persons

Mr Adhiraj Parthasarathy, Independent Policy Consultant
Topic: Issues in Queer Mental Healthcare in an Indian Context: Ageing, Substance Abuse and Access

Prof Vina Vaswani, Director, Centre for Ethics, and Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Yenepoya (Deemed to be) University, Mangalore
Topic: Transformation required from Homo Economicus to Homo Ethicus

Day 4 | June 22, 2023
Theme: Legal & Rights Dimensions

Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli, LGBTQI+ Activist; Founding member, Telangana Hijra Transgender Samiti, Hyderabad
Topic: Transgender & Horizontal Reservation, Litigation and Advocacy in India

Dr Prateeti Barman, Associate Professor and Dean (i/c), Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Assam Down Town University, Panikhaiti, Guwahati
Topic: Queer Identity and Rights: Experiences from Assam

Harish Iyer, Head DE&I, Axis Bank; Equal Rights Activist; Core advisory committee, LGBT issues, NHRC
Topic: Queer Rights at the Workplace

Rituparna Borah, Co-Director, Nazariya, A Queer Feminist Resource Group, New Delhi
Topic: Linkages of Sexuality and Gender with other developmental issues: Concepts of Sexual Norms and Sexual Hierarchy

Day 5 | June 23, 2023
Theme: Solidarity & Cultural Dimensions

Dr Debolina Dey, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Ramjas College, University of Delhi
Topic: Is the Vagabond Happy? Friendship, Family and Queerness

Dr Debashis Mitra, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts, The ICFAI University, Tripura 
Topic: Unlearning Gender: Masculinities and Queer Space in India and Beyond

Dr Lavanya Shanbhogue Arvind, Assistant Professor, Centre for Disasters and Development, Jamsetji Tata School of Disaster Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai
Topic: Towards Inclusivity in Disaster Management: Reflections on Challenges Faced by LGBTQ+ Communities in Disaster Situation

Maya Awasthy, Co-founder Transgender Welfare Equity, and Empowerment Trust (tweet) Foundation
Topic: Contemporary Legal & Judicial Proceedings & Way Forward

Participants List & Details: 

YouTube Videos:

DAY 1: https://youtu.be/XXzU3RJZao0
DAY 2: https://youtu.be/Z4rmNRF6s6E
DAY 3: https://youtu.be/Xff4GdmnaTo
DAY 4: https://youtu.be/7oVmuSjipY
DAY 5: https://youtu.be/RFRVrcDnsTo

Previous similar programs: 

FEMINISM: Fundamentals, Facets & Future | IMPRI #WebPolicyLearning | February 2023

Reproductive and Conjugal Rights of Women in India | IMPRI #WebPolicyLearning | December 2022

Feminist Foreign Policy: Praxis for a Peaceful and Gender Just World Order | IMPRI #WebPolicyLearning | September 2022

Women’s Rights, Laws and Policies in India | IMPRI #WebPolicyLearning | September 2022

Perspectives on Gender through Healthcare Lens | IMPRI #WebPolicyLearning | June 2022

Feminism and the Global Social Transformation | IMPRI #WebPolicyLearning | February 2022

Women-led Sustainable and Decentralised Water Resource Management – A Multi-Stakeholders’ Perspective | IMPRI #WebPolicyLearning | August 2021

You might like: 

IMPRI #WebPolicyTalk Series –
The State of Gender Equality – #GenderGaps | YouTube Playlist