Mumbai: Woman seeks sex-change operation to marry girlfriend

Dr Rajat Kapoor says the person who opts for a gender change needs to undergo counselling and psychological evaluation. File pic

A 31-year-old woman from Lucknow has approached the country's first Gender Reassignment and Cosmetology Outpatient Department (OPD) at St George Hospital, to seek a sex-change operation as she wants to marry her lesbian partner.

While she is yet to undergo counselling and other key procedures, Dr Rajat Kapoor, the man behind the OPD, has said that if a person seeks sex change only for love, the surgery cannot be performed.

Dr. Rajat Kapoor says the person who opts for a gender change needs to undergo counselling and psychological evaluation. File pic

Gender binder issues
The woman from Lucknow and her partner, who read about Lalit Salve - the police constable from Beed, who was raised as a woman and then underwent gender reassignment surgery at St George Hospital to become a man - approached the OPD after deciding to get married. Salve's story gave a fillip to their dreams of living together and raising a child.

The couple met in school, but their relationship blossomed when one of them moved to Nagpur. The years went by with them hiding their relationship from society. "When I read about Lalit, it gave us hope that if I became a man, I could marry my girlfriend and we could have a child in future. Though Section 377 was scrapped, a lesbian couple still faces issues while adopting a child," said the woman, who is the dominant partner.

Counselling sessions
The couple visited the OPD at St George Hospital three weeks ago to talk to Dr Kapoor, the plastic surgeon who operated on Lalit. But, they are yet to go through a series of intense counselling sessions. "Our family members still don't know about our relationship, though my brother suspects my sexual orientation. If I opt for the operation, I will have to inform my family, which is my main concern," the woman said with a sigh.

'Not just for love'
Talking about the procedure for a sex-change operation, Dr Kapoor said the person has to go through the mandatory and multiple rounds of counselling. "As per the WHO guidelines, a person who opts for gender change has to undergo counselling and psychological evaluation. After seeing the results, we decide if she/he falls in the given international criteria to undergo sex change. We need to see if there is a man in the body of a woman. If it is only for love, we don't perform the operation, as love is a temporary feeling."

Surgery for girlfriend
In 2018, Deepu R Darshan who was earlier known as Archana Rajan, a resident of Kerala, underwent a sex-change operation and transformed into a man for her girlfriend. However, later, her girlfriend refused to marry him, and Deepu filed a case in the Kerala High Court.

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