TISS becomes India’s first campus to start gender-neutral hostel

Mumbai: In a progressive move post Supreme Court’s September 6 verdict which decriminalised homosexuality in the country, India is going to be the first country in the world to have a gender-neutral hostel.

As per the decision by the authorities of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) located in Mumbai’s Deonar, the premier institute has recently started its first gender-neutral hostel to accommodate members of LGBTQ+ students.

So far, at least 17 students of the institute have moved to the ground floor of a girl’s hostel inside the campus after it was converted into a gender-neutral space. The floor has 10 twin-seater rooms to accommodate transgender, or gender non-conforming students.

The new hostel makes a safer place for all without the dysphoria of being segregated along the lines of gender, insisted the inmates of TISS hostels.

Notably, in its historic verdict on September 6, the apex court scrapped Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by ruling that society cannot dictate a sexual relationship between consenting adults. Millions celebrated the judgment in the country on the same day by unfurling the rainbow flag.

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