A transgender couple in Kerala, who became biological parents this year, have moved the Kerala High Court seeking to mention their correct gender identity on the newborn’s birth certificate. They have also sought the court to direct the authorities to issue a fresh birth certificate mentioning them as 'parent', instead of 'father' and 'mother' respectively. The matter was heard by a single bench of Justice N Nagaresh, on Friday, July 21, and adjourned to Tuesday citing technical defects in the petition. The court has also asked for the state’s response on what could be done to solve the petitioners’ grievance.
Zahhad, a 23-year-old trans man and Ziya Paval, a 22-year-old trans woman, gave birth to a biological baby on February 8, this year. Zahhad had temporarily stopped his hormone therapy to be pregnant so they could be parents as early as possible. The couple decided to be biological parents after other options had failed them.
Within days after the child was born, the couple approached the hospital authorities seeking to mention their correct gender identity on the newborn’s birth certificate and other documents. However, the Kozhikode corporation registered the child’s birth on February 17, 2023, with the father’s name recorded as ‘Ziya Paval (Transgender)’ and the mother’s name as ‘Zahhad (Transgender)’.
Speaking to TNM, Ziya said they approached the Kozhikode Corporation seeking to issue the birth certificate with their names mentioned as ‘name of the parent’, instead of assigning them the roles of mother and father, but the request was denied. The petition stated that it was “a violation of the fundamental rights of the petitioners.”
“Instead of including the name of father and mother in the birth certificate of the 3rd petitioner, including the word “Parent” can solve many issues that may come up in future and denial of such a certificate is a denial of his fundamental right itself,” the petition read. They have sought the court to direct the Kozhikode Corporation to issue a new birth certificate for the child without assigning them the roles of mother and father and instead mentioning them as ‘parents’.
The petitioners are being represented by advocate Padmalakshmi, who made history this year by becoming the first transgender woman to become an advocate in Kerala.