"Women Who Dress Like Men Give Birth To Transgenders": Kerala Professor

Kerala: A professor in Kerala, a regular at government programmes, has generated waves of shock and disgust with his comments on transgenders. Rajith Kumar, a doctorate in microbiology, faces the prospect of being blacklisted by the government for the comments made during an awareness camp in Kasargode, the northern district of Kerala.

"Women, who wear men's clothes, give birth to children called transgender - Hijra. More than six lakh such children have been already been born in Kerala... If women insult their womanhood and men insult their manhood, children born to them, though may appear to be a girl, will have the nature of a man. And this woman will later conceive a child called transgender. Such children are being born with cerebral palsy, autism," Professor Rajith Kumar is heard saying in a clip that is being circulated on social media. He is believed to have made the comment at a counselling session recently.

The professor has been part of over 1700 awareness sessions related to health in Kerala and outside.

State health minister KK Shylaja has taken a strong note of Rajith Kumar's remarks and has ordered government departments not to include him in any awareness campaigns. In a Facebook post, Ms Shylaja says the government is considering action against him. "Rajith Kumar has been consistently pushing superstitious and sexist ideas," she added.

In reply to the minister's post, Rajith Kumar has uploaded a video defence that has has been viewed over '7.7K' times. "My awareness sessions give very good results and that's why I am invited by people and parents and children 'like' my posts... my classes are for the poor, not the rich. So, if the government decides to boycott me, it will be the poor government school children, who will be missing out the guidance and personality development assessments," he says. His Facebook page has around 30,000 'Likes'. 

The professor, denying that his comments are sexist and derogatory, claims he speaks from years of academic experience and is backed by science.

"Women today are independent and proving their worth in every sphere. There is no place for the reactions of that professor. I totally condemn it", said Sijin MS, a young boxing coach. 

"Such people should not be paid any attention. We have the freedom to wear what we want to. No one should be allowed to preach baseless things', said Janshita Mohammad, a third year college student. 

"The government has done well by banning this professor. He should not be allowed to speak anywhere," said Sreejith KS, a college student.