Guest column by Saisha Shinde: How transgender people work their name change documents

Saisha Shinde writes about how having her name changed on official documents sends out a positive message

I’ll start at the beginning. We—transgender people—are born this way. I realised I was a boy when I began to understand my body. Until then I felt I was a girl. I played with girls and felt weird when I was expected to do “boy” things. Only with the advent of the internet did I learn about the concepts of “shemales,” “ladyboys,” and eventually, “transgender”. Up until then, it was a constant battle to understand whether I was gay or straight or trans, or someone else altogether!

Make it official

I’ve recently had my name changed on my PAN and Aadhaar cards from Swapnil Shinde to Saisha Shinde. For most transgender or non-binary people, having their names changed on official documentation can be an uphill task. But I come from a certain level of privilege; I’ve had an illustrious career in fashion and film. So, I haven’t been through even one per cent of the battle that trans men and women deal with day in and day out.

To see my female gender and name was like rebirth. I felt a sense of pride that I live in a country where this option is available. Here I was holding legal documents that not even a lot of first world countries offer. I felt thankful to India for letting me be myself.

HT Brunch is one of the first Indian magazines to proudly feature trans people on the cover, as seen in the October 2020 Best Models issue (left) & the recent cover story (right) with Abhishek Kapoor and twins, Reyza & Saher Sahni

My story as Saisha has so far been brilliant. That’s what I hope to make happen for other trans women. There is so much I want to do and I will. My team has been exceptional! The biggest challenge I faced was language. That we don’t have appropriate words to use to describe gender identity was shocking. My tailors and masters accepted my reality with as much purity as my intention to live authentically.

Last hurdle

My passport is the last document to be changed. I love to travel, so I hope to get it soon. I don’t want my passport to say “male” and “Swapnil” when the person standing in front of the airport officials will be me, Saisha Shinde.

Saisha Shinde is a fashion designer who came out as a trans woman in January 2021

From HT Brunch, January 30, 2022

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch