In a first, Madhya Pradesh govt allows woman constable to undergo sex-change surgery

Bhopal: In the first case of its kind in the state, a woman constable in Madhya Pradesh has been allowed to undergo sex reassignment surgery. According to reports, the woman constable had moved an application for a sex reassignment surgery in 2019, after getting the necessary psychological and biological tests. 

Confirming the development, state's Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that several doctors in Gwalior and Delhi advised the constable to undergo the surgery.

"The woman constable was diagnosed with gender identity disorder since childhood. She had consulted doctors from Delhi, Gwalior`s JAH Hospital and Bhopal`s Gandhi Medical College. They recommended gender change," Mishra said.

"It is the first case in Madhya Pradesh. The state government has also granted her permission to undergo the surgery," he added. 

"Sex change is the right of every person and permission for the same has been granted to the constable, " he added.

Rajesh Rajora, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) said that the constable appeared before him after her file reached his office. Rajora said, "She categorically said she felt like a male trapped in a woman’s body. "

In 2018, Lalita Salve, a woman constable from Beed, Maharashtra, had undergone sex reassignment surgery. She was the first woman constable in the state of Maharashtra to have undergone the procedure. Her surgery was performed at St. George Hospital. She chooses the name Lalit post-surgery.