"At first I didn't believe that she was a doctor."
A young transgender doctor was rescued by police after being found begging on the streets of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, along with other transgenders.
They are now helping her open a clinic, to serve the people.
The transgender, who chose to stay anonymous, hopes to move the Medical Council of India to make appropriate changes in her records.
She hopes to open her clinic in order to resume medical practice soon.
This young doctor graduated from the Madurai Government Medical College in 2018.
She had been ostracised by her family for undergoing sex transformation in order to become a woman.
After the surgery, she was also sacked from the hospital where she had been working for a year.
Police inspector G Kavitha, who rounded up a group of transgenders for reportedly begging and troubling traders stated:
“At first I didn’t believe that she was a doctor.
“She broke down and insisted that she possessed a medical degree but it was on her earlier name.”
The police, after verifying the documents, got in touch with the doctors from Madurai Medical College.
They corroborated the fact that the transsexual doctor, was a male in college.
Only recently had she landed in the midst of transgenders to beg as she had no means to sustain herself, after being sacked from the hospital.
The surprised inspector then took up the case of the transgender doctor with her superiors, to extend all possible help.
Kalki Subramaniam, a celebrated Indian transgender activist, artist, poet, actor and inspirational speaker informed us:
“I don’t see any problem in changing her records with the MCI.
“Her rights can’t be denied. But first, she has to notify the name change in the gazette which will serve as a government order.”
Kalki is the founder of Sahodari Foundation, an organisation which works for Indian transgenders, continued:
“It is nothing but human rights violation to deny her job based on her gender.”
Kalki remarked that the hospital cannot sack a person based on gender.
They may have to reinstate if the said doctor gets a court ruling in her favour.
Recalling the order passed in India’s Supreme Court in 2014, Kalki said:
“Being recognised by the country as a third gender is in favour of the doctor too.”
The top court had also affirmed that the fundamental rights granted under the Constitution of India will be equally applicable to transgenders.
It gave them the right to self-identification of their gender as male, female or third gender.
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