Bahaghari-EARIST condemned the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST) administration’s move to deny the enrollment of transgender women students “solely due to their gender expression.”
In a statement released to Outrage Magazine, Bahaghari-EARIST alleged that transgender students have been denied from schooling in EARIST because they have long hair, told that they can only enroll if their hair was cut short, or at least tied back in school premises, a rule that is not applied to cisgender female students. In addition, transgender students are also only allowed to wear uniforms based on their assigned sex at birth.
Bahaghari-EARIST first exposed EARIST’s position on transgender students in October 2023, when it filed a formal complaint to the Office of the President.
“Education must be for all, regardless of a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression,” said JP Brillantes, a transgender woman student-leader and the Women’s Representative of Bahaghari-EARIST. “Ang pagbabawal ng school admin ng EARIST na i-enroll ang ilang estudyante dahil lamang trans sila ay labag sa karapatan naming mag-aral at isa itong malinaw na porma ng diskriminasyon dahil sa aming kasarian (The decision of EARIST’s administration not to allow transgender people to enroll is a violation of our right to study, and this is. clear form of discrimination against our sexual orientation and gender identity).”
For Brillantes, public institutions such as EARIST should throw out “outdate dpolicies related to uniforms and grooming” since “having a long hair and wearing women’s uniform are not hindrances in getting proper education.” In fat, “nakakamit ng mga kabataang LGBT ang aming full potential kapag nabibigyan kami ng pagkakataong maipahayag ang aming mga sarili (young LGBT people attain our full potential when given opportunities to express ourselves).”
Bahaghari-EARIST is still hoping to “sit down and work to help transform EARIST into a more inclusive school by initiating the long overdue conversation on its repressive uniform and grooming policies.”
“For many students, schools are like their second home, and home must be a safe space. Paano magiging safe space ang EARIST para sa mga estudyante nito kung mismong ang mga nagpapalakad nito ay pinapanatili ang mga atrasadong polisiya patungkol sa LGBTQIA community (How can EARIST be a safe space for students if the people running it continue to have antiquated policies related to LGBTQIA community)?” Brillantes ended.
