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Transman gives birth to baby in Kerala
Even though Zahad had undergone breast removal surgery and was waiting to remove her uterus to become a man, for which Zahad was already undergoing heavy hormone treatment,however, they both decided to put the treatment on hold and take chance at becoming parents.
The transgender couple from north Kerala, Zahad and Ziya Paval, on Wednesday took to social media to announce the arrival of their baby.
“Finally wait is over, we are thrilled to welcome the new member,” the couple wrote. Zahad is the first transman to deliver a baby, activists working among the LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual) community have confirmed.
Talking to the HT from Kozhikode, Ziya said they will request hospital authorities to register her name as the mother and Zahad as father. “It was a C-section and the baby weighed 2.920 kg. It is wonderful. The father and baby are fine. We haven’t decided about gender yet,” she said while thanking all those supported them. “Zahad will be father and I will be the proud mother from now on,” she said.
Gynaecology department head of the medical college hospital in Kozhikode Dr C Sreekumar said both were in good health and can be discharged from the hospital after required rest. He said hospital authorities will take an expert advice on “registering role reversal and gender of the new- born.”
“It is beautiful, I will be both, father and mother,” Zahad had told the HT a week before. People working in the area also vouch Ziya will be first transman in the country to father through natural conception. The couple had announced their pregnancy last week.
The duo had met three years ago and fell in love. Initially, they had thought of adopting a child but their advances were rejected by the system. “Even most eligible couple are not getting baby on adoption, then how can a trans couple apply?” they were told by officials when they approached the government agency for adoption.
Even though Zahad had undergone breast removal surgery and was waiting to remove her uterus to become a man, for which Zahad was already undergoing heavy hormone treatment,however, they both decided to put the treatment on hold and take chance at becoming parents. “We only took a break. We will continue our journey to become a transman and transwoman...we will continue our treatment after six months of the delivery,” Zahad had said adding it was a well thought out decision by both.
“It was a big challenge. Returning to femininity that I shed on my own initially bothered me badly. But Ziya’s love and hope to have a baby changed my mind altogether,” she had said earlier.
After this, they approached the gynaecologists of the Kozhikode medical college hospital, who gave them nod after necessary tests. “Since Zahad underwent breast removal surgery, the baby will be fed from the breast milk bank at the medical college hospital. Like our community, doctors are also excited,” said Ziya,born as a male, on the process of switching over to womanhood. Zahad (23) is an accountant with a private firm and Ziya (21) is classical dance teacher.
The LGBTQIA community is equally ecstatic. “The young couple has set a trend. They showed to a rigid society that they can also become parents. We are really happy,” said Syama S Prabha, a trans activist, adding this is first such case in the country.
Last year, a lesbian couple from the state who were forcibly separated by their families had reunited and married after the high court’s intervention. Two days back the Supreme Court had stayed the Kerala HC order, directing another detained lesbian partner to undergo counselling and sent notices to her parents.
