As the Bangladeshi government wishes to introduce the issue of the transgender people into the school curriculum, we really must ask, is this the best topic to teach children? Bangladesh has a small intersex population that is increasing as people have begun to choose to change their genders and identity. While it is important to teach children respect and understanding of other people, the primary aim of Bangladesh does not seem to be this – rather it seems to be to mimic the West and if this is the case, the outcome could be disastrous.
In British society, transgenderism is becoming more taught in schools. While this may seem like it is for awareness, many debates and arguments have erupted amongst parents and politicians. Bangladeshi society is even more reserved compared to British society and the likelihood of any sort of acceptance is much lower. Moreover, there is a high chance that this group of people will be subject to even more hate instead of the approval they wish for so badly.
Most of the transgender people in Bangladesh seem to be men turning into women, or simply a "third gender". This raises the issue of leading to an insurge of identity crises amongst young people. The psychological effects of this type of thinking lasts for many years. It begins with a simple question of: "Was I supposed to be born this way?" to wearing female clothing and makeup to wanting to get surgery done to remove their gendered genitals. In the process, they are outcasted from society, are denied basic respect and become beggars on the street. To promote such a process is simply a faster way of fracturing the society more than it already is.
To set the scene of the true events which take place, I will describe my own experiences of being in the British education system and society. Transgenderism is becoming much more common and normalised with bigger city areas in England, such as London. They are often visible due to the flag that they have or you can tell from their masculine features covered by women's clothing and makeup. There are also people who do not identify as a gender at all, non-binary. However, it has slowly gotten out of hand as new genders do not include turning from male to female, vice versa or no assigning a gender at all – it now even includes becoming animals. People can identify themselves as "dog" or "cat". While the last mentioned one is not as common, they are still recognised, acknowledged and demand respect. Can a society truly function when people choose to become animals and want to be treated as such?
When these thoughts are planted into a child's head, they become confused about their own identity. Eventually, if they make the decision, they want to transition or assign themselves this third gender, they break off their relationship with their parents and are completely ostracised from society. Then, they are forced to flee and travel with the danger of becoming kidnapped and trafficked. To encourage a child to engage in such acts is atrocious.
Many people may question: so what? If it has become more popular in areas like London, what is the harm of it becoming more common in places like Bangladesh. In a report, it was found out that transgender people were "more likely to have long-term poor mental health" compared to normal people. There is a trend of drugs, suicide, and various forms of mental illnesses amongst them. Majority of London's LGBTQ society hide under the guise of happiness, while they suffer silently. While they have basic human rights, access to healthcare and other facilities, there is always a sense of not belonging and feeling alone amongst them despite their attempts at creating their own communities (this in itself, is a form of splitting up the society). Slowly, with this division, they demand their own rights, becoming a burden to the government and localities. Forcing their own ideologies on young children in schools through the curriculum is only the beginning, they have broken their own family ties and by indoctrinating young children, they smash the family structure and society into smithereens.
Freedom of speech could be another argument, that everybody should be able to express how they feel. But can this really apply to those who will destruct and annihilate the future of our communities and countries? Particularly for the transgender people – their desire and wish of free speech is based on their imaginations and fantasies, a mere transformation from reality to conception. They want to become what is physically and spiritually impossible and so, their free speech is simply a form of allowing themselves to live their life based on lies and things which he or she can never become. This sort of freedom is simply unrealistic and completely destructive to our society. Essentially, when these people come to terms with the reality that their wishes will never be fulfilled, solely because it is so absurd and abnormal, they end their lives or find solace in drugs and alcohol. To normalise such an ideology within the Bangladeshi education curriculum will be disastrous, such people will be given the liberty to revel in their lies and live life like a mirage, avoiding the reality of life. It must be stopped before this madness goes too far.
The worst is that the majority of the individuals go through an identity crisis, constantly questioning if living in isolation from their families and peers is truly worth living a life of deceptive entity. Either they must lie to their peers and live in fear of being found out or are ousted from general society and are forced to live with the same gender in particular areas. This life of constant fear and uncertainty is almost torturous as they are cut off from family, values, tradition, and faith. Is this the life that we will be encouraging children to live? Is this what the Bangladeshi government is advocating for?
Understandably, we must teach children respect and tolerance. This is something that cannot be negotiated. But the studies must be taught in such a way where there is just that. Children are bound to come across transgender people on the street and it should be taught to them that they should not hurt or disrespect others. At the end of the day, they are human too. But if the Bangladeshi government goes about it in such a way where children are interested in the idea of becoming like them and encourage their delusions, the society will completely crumble.
We should evaluate Bangladeshi culture in the first place. Although it claims that its foundations are upon Islamic values, its practices, and the fragile state of it say otherwise. Proper healthcare is not provided, homeless people are on every corner of the street, less fortunate people struggle to make the bare minimum, women are sexually assaulted and abused and many more issues that need to be acted upon are presented. Providing funds and creating a system for these destitute people are much more important right now than funding this programme that promotes more division. The government's aim to create a more secular society will eventually lead to the collapse of the country in general and there will be no turning back.