23-year-old Rukshana Kapali went to Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus to submit her exam registration form for her Bachelor’s second-year examinations.
But they refused to accept her form saying she was not registered as a student with the Tribhuvan University.
They refused to entertain my registration form, citing an updated system of Tribhuvan University that requires a registration number for entering an examination form into the system.
Kapali doesn’t have a university registration number because she was denied registration by the Exam Controller’s Office back in 2017. The reason is her gender.
Kapali’s gender assigned at birth was male, also reflected in her School Leaving Certificate (SLC).
However, Kapali has legally changed her gender to female and has acquired many of her documents accordingly.
Despite the change, Nepal Education Board refused to change Kapali’s gender in her SLC documents in 2016. Consequently, TU refused to officially register Kapali as a student but allowed her to attend classes and sit examinations.
For Kapali, it’s 2017 all over again. Her registration is still in limbo. There is a public outcry against it on social media, and officials at the Office of the Controller of Examinations have said she would be able to sit her exams.
But Kapali is not asking to be recognized as ‘others,’ but to be recognized as ‘female’ – the gender mentioned in her higher secondary education certificates.
