Monitoring Desk
KERALA: A pregnancy photoshoot by an Indian transgender couple who stopped hormone therapy to have a baby has gone viral on social media.
Twenty-one-year-old Ziya Paval and her partner Zahad, 23, from Kerala, were in the process of gender transition when the couple decided to have a baby. Paval, who says she has always wanted to be a mother, was born male but now identifies as female. Zahad, who only has one name, was born female but now identifies as male. According to the BBC, he is currently pregnant, and the couple predicts welcoming their baby soon.
On their social media pages, the couple has received numerous congratulations.
S Negha, a transgender actress, commented on Ms Paval’s Instagram post, where she shared the photos, saying that trans people deserve family. Paval and Zahad say their experience may be unusual in India because no one else had called themselves a biological parent in the transgender community as far as they know.
Transgender people are estimated to number around two million in India, though activists claim the figure is higher. The Indian Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that they had the same rights as people of other genders. However, they continue to face obstacles to education and healthcare, as well as prejudice and stigma. Paval and Zahad met three years ago, despite the fact that they were both estranged from their families.
Transgender couple and their families
Pavel explained that she comes from a conservative Muslim family that did not allow her to learn classical dance. Her parents were orthodox to the point of cutting her hair so she wouldn’t dance. Paval claims she left home to attend a youth festival and never returned. She took dance classes at a transgender community centre. She now teaches to her students in the Kozhikode district.
Zahad, a trained accountant, comes from a Christian family in Thiruvananthapuram’s fishing community. He is currently employed at a big supermarket. He had left his family after coming out to them as transgender. However, since he became pregnant, his family has accepted and supported the couple. Paval says, family of Zahid is helping him during pregnancy.
Zahad’s mother was the one who initially asked the couple not to make the pregnancy public. After she gave permission, they announced it on their Instagram page last week. Paval claims that her family has yet to come around.
Paval claims that they decided to have a baby one and a half years ago, when they were both in different phases of gender transition.
Zahad’s ovaries and uterus had not yet been removed and the couple stopped the hormone therapy on their doctors’ advice. The doctors for the couple are not authorised to speak to the media. Doctor Mahesh DM, an endocrinologist in Bangalore who has worked with several transgender people, stated that they can resume sex hormone therapy once the pregnancy is over.
The couple says they’ll need to find more work after the baby is born to make ends meet. Paval says it’s difficult to make ends meet and that she’ll have to take on more dance students. Zahad will return to work around two months after the baby is born. Paval will then look after the baby. According to the couple, the transgender community has been “very welcoming” of their pregnancy.
Of course, there are people both inside and outside the transgender community who believe in stereotypes, according to Paval. They believe a Tran’s man cannot be carrying a child, but it doesn’t matter to Zahid and Paval.
