National Institute of Social Defense (NISD) Ministry of Justice and& Empowerment, Govt. of India in collaboration with Law College Dehradun Faculty of Uttaranchal University under the aegis of School of Agriculture organized the online guest lecture on ‘An Initiative to Create Awareness of Transgender rights’ on 13th March,2023 from 3 p.m. onwards.
Ms. Abha Vijayaan, Advocate, LL.M. Gold Medalist of class 2017-18, Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University and Law Graduate from Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, was the distinguished guest and eminent speaker for the Webinar. Ms. Abha Vijayan had only one goal in life: to become an excellent litigator. Ms. Vijayan is a highly competent and honest woman from Kerala who was raised in Delhi. In pursuit of her scholastic goals, she passed for Asst. Professorship by passing both the UGC-NET 2018 and the January 2019 exams. She believes in one principle. When it comes to business, everything is 'figureoutable'. And her father has always told her that if you enjoy your job, you don't have to work a single day. Ms. Vijayan is a member of one of the most honorable occupations, and it is her goal to leave a good legacy in the field.
Prof. (Dr.) Mahipal Singh, Dean of the School of Agriculture, Uttaranchal University, inaugurated the event. He extended a warm greeting to the distinguished guest while keeping his views on transgender equality. Dr. Mahipal Singh ended his speech from welcoming the eminent speaker for sharing her views on transgender rights.Ms. Abha Vijayan began the presentation by praising everyone who helped organize this special lecture. She maintained her standpoint on what transgender is and why transgender equality is required.She highlighted her point with mentioning and explaining the concept of LGBTQIA, she added that LGBTQIA is an abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and more.
These terms are used to describe the sexual orientation and gender identity of an individual. She furthermore explained the example of God 'Ardhanareeshvara', mentioned in Hindu mythical book 'Mahabharat'. The name Ardhanareeshvara is a blend of the three terms "Ardha," "Nari," and "Ishwara," which, when used together, refer to the deity whose half is a woman. She mentioned that according to popular belief, Lord Shiva is the male component, and Goddess Parvati or Shakti is the female component. It even glorifies transgender individuals.She gave yet another story of Mohini, the Hindu god of enchantment. She is the only feminine incarnation of Vishnu, the Hindu god. She is depicted as a femme fatale and enchantress who enchants partners and demons and occasionally sends them to their deaths. The Mahabharata, a historical tale, introduces Mohini into Hinduism. She stated that God Shiva was made to fell in love with Vishnu in feminine shape by Mohini, who embodied attractiveness. In Western states of India, she is called Mahalasa and her consort is Khanboda, a regional avatar of Shiva. She also talked about how men and women dominate society and how the transgender community, which is just as important to society, is ignored. She said that people taking advantage of transgender people is not a new problem; it has been talked about since the Mughal and British times. She also said that transgender people have been around for a long time and are not odd to society.She stated that India's government only has a few rules and acts in place. But these rules must be kept safe and must be modified.At the end, she mentioned that transgender individuals should have the same rights as everyone else. She also said that transgender rights need to be protected, even though there are many laws and safety acts already in existence.
At the end of the online guest lecture Dr. Neha Saini, Women Cell coordinator and Event coordinator ended the lecture with the vote of thanks. She mentioned her vote of thanks by extending her heartfelt gratitude to esteemed key speaker Ms.Abha Vijayan for her informative lecture. Dr. Neha Saini extended her vote of thanks to Prof., Dr. Rajesh Bahuguna, Pro-Vice chancellor, Uttaranchal University, Dr. V. Laxmi Priya, Professor, Law college, Uttaranchal University, Dr. Poonam Rawat, Prof. & HOD, Law College, Uttaranchal University for giving the opportunity to School of Agriculture to organize the guest lecture. She furthermore mentioned her vote of thanks to Prof., Dr. M.P Singh, Dean, School of Agriculture, faculty members and all student attendees for their active participation in online guest lecture.
All the students and faculty members found the Webinar to be extremely informative and enlightening. A total of 73 individuals participated in the Webinar.
