Some of India’s hijra community. | Photo: Flickr/R Barraez D´Lucca
A mom in India has taken her case to the High Court to force her trans daughter to undergo a medical and psychological assessment because she does not believed she is trans.
Arundhati is a 25-year-old university student in the south eastern state, Kerala. Even though she has identified as female since her childhood, her mother has not accepted her gender identity.
Her mother filed a successful Habeas Corpus petition in the Kerala High Court to get custody of Arundhati. A Habeas Corpus is a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person’s release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.
‘I was taken to the mental hospital’
To try and stop their daughter presenting as female, Arundhati’s parents forced her into a mental hospital.
‘Without my constent, I was taken to the mental hospital and was admitted to three and half months,’ Arundhati told Dool News.
‘They cut off my hair, cut my nails and did so many things to me like giving me a lot of injections.
‘My father and mother wanted to take me back to the mental hospital, because they thought I have a “sickness”.’
‘Transgender gang’
Arundhati’s mother believed a ‘transgender gang’ brainwashed her daughter and that’s why she forced her into court to order the medical assessment.
She believed that Arundhati was not trans ‘physically or psychologically’. Her mom argued in court that Arundhati had a ‘mental aberration of mood disorder’. She said in court that her daughter changed her name to Arundhati ‘in conspiracy with the interested transgender gang’.
Throughout the court proceedings she misgendered Arundhati referring to her as ‘he’ and ‘my son’.
Justices V Chitambaresh and KP Jyothindranath ruled on Monday (4 June) that Arundhati must undergo the assessment. They ruled she will undergo the psychological and medical examination of the transgender person at a mental hospital in the state.
Arundhati is a woman
The Bachelor of Arts student said she has identified as female since she was 11 years old.
‘I want to allow myself to live in harmony with my will,’ she said.
‘From my childhood, I have always felt like neglected, ridiculed, and lonely.’
In 2014, the Supreme Court of India ruled to recognize trans people as a third gender. That ruling also ordered state governments to improve the lives of trans people by granting equal rights and anti-discrimination laws.
Kerala is also of the leading states in India when it comes to trans rights. It was one of the first states to enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Kerala also led the way becoming the first state to host the first trans beauty pageant and also trans sports competition.
The state government has also set up job placements and social housing for the trans community.
