aAarav, a 25-year-old transgender man living in New Delhi, has been fighting a case in the Delhi High Court since March 2019. His petition is at the center of his identity struggle – his name on the school marksheet, which is the basis for obtaining all higher certifications in India. The petition challenges the bye-laws of CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) which do not allow change of name and gender of students after the issuance of certificates. While most can overcome these problems, for trans students, it is more than just an inconvenience.
After a long Covid-induced delay, Aarav’s case finally gained some momentum in May, and CBSE ended up giving out an updated certificate. But the struggle did not end there. Aarav’s lawyer Amritananda Chakraborty says, “This revealed Aarav’s dead name” [what he went by before his transition] And had a different serial number. Due to these discrepancies in their education documents and government ID, they had to pay many jobs not only in organized but also in unorganized sector.
The discrepancy means that Aarav has to tell every potential employer about his transition and choice. “If I wanted to give an explanation to people about my past, I would not try to change the marksheet,” Aarav explains in the movement.
The court will meet in September to hear his appeal.
Aarav’s fight is to get a job without any hindrance, calling his last nine years and the full nine years of transition. He would prefer to avoid a prolonged battle like India’s first trans trainee pilot Adam Harry, whose struggle for employment came to the fore recently. Earlier this year, he decided to take the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) to court. In 2020, Harry’s application for a commercial pilot license was rejected on the grounds that he was undergoing hormone therapy. The claim that medicine considered him unfit to fly has been proven false.
Each stage in a trans person’s life – from dealing with family conflicts to workplace discrimination – comes with its own set of challenges and traumas. But for Aarav, dealing with institutional constraints was a battle he was unprepared for.
Read also: Paarl panel recommends uniform adoption law that covers all religions, LGBTQ communities
documents, education, employment
For the most part, the Indian education system is unprepared to meet the needs of trans individuals. Dheeraj (name changed), a Jabalpur-based trans man expresses his deep dismay at not getting suitable employment. Though he has a bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy, he cannot get a permanent job as documentation is a major issue. “Madhya Pradesh Board” [of Secondary Education], under which I completed my schooling, refused to change my name on the marksheet,” he says. His venture to start his own clinic failed as he lacked sufficient capital and external support.
Not only is the literacy rate dangerously low for transgender people in India, even Class XII passers are victims of a distinctively slow bureaucracy.
“People in the education sector are not aware of the trans issue at all,” says Aarav, who is now working as a cell coordinator at Humsafar Trust. He recently managed to get into a college for a bachelor’s degree in social work. Rejected from previous sources of employment due to inconsistency in documents, his desire to improve his economic prospects is nothing less than a nightmare. They have to spend around Rs 10,000 to 15,000 per document to change their name in the government ID. And then there is the ‘stubborn’ marksheet, which is still causing trouble.
Aarav’s work at Humsafar Trust includes securing jobs for transgender people in various industries as well as conducting desensitization seminars in private companies, and he says it has been quite successful. “Many transgender people have been successful in reaching the interview stage and even securing a job, but there are still many who get rejected because of document issues or personal feelings of the interviewer,” says Aarav.
The discrepancy in documents not only affects the job prospects for trans persons, but it also proves to be a hindrance in getting a home loan. Potential landlords are wary of renting to trans people.
And so the vicious cycle begins. “Their issues are so intricately intertwined, they do not have bank accounts as they fail to provide proof of residence, and they do not have the residence to apply for home loans and a regular source of income which will help them Could have helped buy a house,” says Preeti Choudhary who teaches gender studies and transgender discourse at the University of Rajasthan.
coming out and health care
Even the healthcare system is pitted against trans persons. Officially, through self-identification alone, a person cannot have a gender identity other than their assigned gender. Trans persons undergo gender confirmation surgery and require proof to reach the stage of converting documents. But a complicated medical system comes in the way of their access to surgery and other health services.
In the work of the Indian Constitution, Diksha Sanyal and Pawan Dhal mention how the Transgender Persons Act 2019 has complicated the inclusion of community members in the mainstream of society. Under the Act, individuals cannot access relevant services unless they provide a government-approved medical infection certificate, which is both time-consuming and costly. This discourages many from accessing educational and social welfare opportunities.
“Our medical curriculum has not been able to sensitize our doctors enough to understand the needs of transgender people. Their identity has become much less, they have become a sexual object, they even get their genitals checked for symptoms like cold and cough,” said Dr Choudhary.
Being transgender is often a ‘diagnosis’ rather than an identity. This stigma around identity physically and mentally isolates the community from the mainstream. Many psychologists also diagnose transgender people as gender dysphoric, where there is a feeling of discomfort due to the mismatch between the assigned gender and their gender identity.
The process of getting sex confirmation surgery is fraught with red-tape procedures that take away any sensitivity from the lengthy process. The cost of surgery is also very high, and it is higher for trans men, says Aarav, who spent Rs 30 lakh for the procedure with a precarious employment situation and no family support. Before proceeding with the surgery, a trans person has to consult a psychiatrist.
“It takes away any autonomy from trans individuals,” says Sumedha Kathpalia, a clinical psychologist at the Karma Center for Counseling and Wellbeing, a mental health practice that encourages queer positive psychology. Still, the procedure cannot be terminated because of the misconception that trans people want to reverse their surgery, which would hold the psychiatrist and surgeon responsible.
Psychologists at Karma Center, who practice queer positive therapy, detail conflicts at different stages. “The layered power structures and hierarchies involved in the transition process undermine the autonomy of transgender individuals and neglect their subjective experiences, creating additional difficulties in the process,” says Sumedha Kathpalia, clinical psychologist at Karma Kendra.
Read also: NEET, CUET, JEE cannot be conducted so casually. Students need proper centres, online access
one flaw to another
Research in different parts of the world indicates that cases of self-harm and suicide in the transgender community are comparatively higher within the LGBTQIA+ community. Unfortunately, in India, the paucity of statistical data prevents detailed analysis of cases where the issue is not individual, but systemic.
Maanvi Khurana, Founder and Senior Counseling Psychologist, Karma Center says, “Even support groups started for transgender individuals may not get enough registration as people may feel unsafe to come out in a group setting , which is a very valid concern.”
The number of transgender men able to access medical and other mental health resources is comparatively small. “One of the reasons could be that many transgender men may not get the same privileges while coming out,” Khurana said. For transgender men, coming out can be a matter of survival, especially if they and those around them are homogeneous. In such circumstances, in the absence of locally available life-saving resources, therapy may become inaccessible in many contexts.”
Counselors at the Karma Center say suicides and suicides among trans people are extremely high, and the lack of official ID also prevents statistical, data-driven analysis of cases where the issue is not personal but systemic. Maanvi Khurana, Founder and Senior Counseling Psychologist, Karma Center says, “Even support groups that have been started to share people’s experiences do not get enough registration because anonymity cannot be promised. “
Trans men are few in number. “They do not have the privilege to come out. They are isolated from others who share a common reality and feel a certain level of isolation,” says Khurana.
Trans persons like Aarav have to go through one legal loophole after another to get approval on paper. But not all members of the transgender community have the tools to do so. Aarav says, “I just want to lead a normal life.
(Edited by Likes)