At English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, final-year MA students organise an annual ‘cross-dressing event’ as a welcome party for freshers.
Students swap their attires with men wearing sarees and dresses along with necklaces, earrings and bangles. Women wear over-sized shirts and tees and wrap themselves in dhotis. Newcomers voluntarily participate in the event to break stereotypical dress-codes and challenge gender norms.
One of the students told Manorama,
“Everyone should be given voice and choice in a progressive society. A space where you can expose your identity without being judged based on your gender and sartorial choices is our dream.”
Athira, a final-year MA student added,
“A patriarchal society expects women to present herself as burdened with ornamentation and heavy clothing. Cross-dressing is an opportunity for men to set foot in a woman’s shoe.”
EFLU is also a vocal supporter of LGBTQ rights. Students organised the university’s 1st pride march after partial reading down of Section 377 in 2018.
