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Indian activists find NYC home at LREI

Queer, feminism issues front and center during extended visit.
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Ileana Jiménez’s high school feminism class went global this fall. LREI took on a unique opportunity and hosted visitors for an extended stay from India’s Tagore International School, where students are raising awareness about LGBTQI issues in groundbreaking ways.
 
The four students, Tanya Bhardwaj, Shailja Kumar, Jatin Kumar Sawhney and Tanya Roy, and their teacher, Shivanee Sen, represent a much larger group from their New Delhi school that founded Breaking Barriers, the first gay-straight alliance in India.
 
Breaking Barriers is the first student-led organization of its kind in India that spreads awareness about queer issues through raising awareness and sensitivity about LGBT youth and advocating for equal rights.
 
The partnership began last year during Ileana’s guest teaching tour of India. She visited Fulbright colleagues working on gender and sexuality issues in India, which she conceived of as an extension of her 2011 Fulbright when she interviewed youth in Mexico about bullying, harassment, and coming out. While on her trip to India, which she documented on her blog Feminist Teacher, Ileana met Shivanee and visited with the Breaking Barriers students at the Tagore International School.
 
The activism work Ileana witnessed at Tagore was “revolutionary.”
 
According to Ileana, Breaking Barriers has done more in less than a year than most gay-straight alliances in the United States do in several years. They have trained their peers and teachers on LGBTQI issues, marched in the Delhi Pride Parade, created their own documentary, and are working on starting a radio show.
 
Inviting the Tagore students to LREI was an opportunity to bring the Indian students’ work on queer issues and the feminist work of LREI students together, two distinct cultures creating global unity around their common values.
 
During their visit to LREI, Tanya B., Shailja, Jatin and Tanya R. immersed themselves in student life.
 
They participated in high school classes such as music and French and went on a NYC tour with teacher Nick O’Han; they spoke at the school’s annual International Day of the Girl assembly with Ileana’s feminism class; and participated in a full-day retreat with the GSA Network and the National Gay Straight Alliance Youth Council, meeting students from GSA’s from across the country. LREI hosted a portion of this retreat at the high school.
 
“Despite being surrounded by messages that oppress the LGBTQI community in India, the Tagore students are able rise above and fight for LGBTQI rights,” said LREI eleventh grader Mirwat Majumder. “Whenever they gave presentations or talked about their work, it was clear how much it meant to them.”
 
During the high school’s annual International Day of the Girl assembly, Tagore students shared aspects of India’s history and explained how discussing sexuality in India was once very open, but has become less so over time. The students hope talking about the issues will reduce marginalization of LBGTQI groups in India.
 
“It’s important to note that most exchange programs in schools do not have an activist component. What we did between LREI and Tagore is a new model for global partnerships between schools,” explained Ileana.
 
This is the first time LREI has ever hosted students from India, and students in the high school were thrilled to forge these important friendships based on a commitment to social justice.
 
“I really enjoyed my time with the students from Tagore,” said LREI eleventh grader and feminist student Galiba Gofur. “They helped me realize that America isn't the only place with feminists. Feminism exists on a more broader and global scale.”
 
While in New York, Breaking Barriers also presented their work to GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network), which Ileana arranged. They also presented to the New York Independent Schools LGBT Educators Group, a group Ileana founded in 2005 for LGBT teachers and their allies.

Special thanks to the four LREI students who hosted the visitors: Cara Eagan, Shana Fletcher, Harmon Pardoe, and Iniko Thornell.

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Learn more about the founding of Breaking Barriers in this video made by the Tagore students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7yNwJJBMUo

Follow Breaking Barriers by liking their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Breaking-Barriers
 
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