Main purpose of my remark was to encourage third-gender education, clarifies Milon

Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon today (30 October) issued a clarification to dispel the unintended ambiguity surrounding a word used in his speech at a discussion marking the BOU founding anniversary.

In the clarification, he said the main purpose of his remarks was to encourage the educational participation and achievements of people from the marginalised third-gender community.

In the clarification sent by the Ministry of Education today, the minister said, “I would like to correct a word used in my remarks at a recent event and clarify the context of my statement.”

“At that event, a student from the third-gender community received a degree. While welcoming this achievement, I spoke about encouraging the participation of third-gender people in education,” he said.

Referring to the various challenges faced by the third-gender community in society, he said, “Many of them face neglect, deprivation and negative attitudes in society. My main point was that they should come forward in education despite these barriers.”

Explaining the unintended choice of words, the education minister further stated, “While referring to the ‘third gender’ during my speech, I inadvertently used the word ‘transgender’.” 

“The term I intended to use here was ‘third gender’,” he added.

Expressing respect for the religious and social sentiments of the people of the country, he said, “I have profound respect for the religious values and sentiments of the people of the country.”

“The sole purpose of my remarks that day was to encourage educational opportunities for third-gender people and recognise their educational achievements,” he said.

Education Minister delivered the speech at a discussion organised on 28 October to mark the 34th founding anniversary of Bangladesh Open University (BOU).