A transgender man from Kerala is fighting against the DGCA’s systemic transphobia which has resulted in the denial of a commercial pilot’s licence in India to him. Adam Harry, 23, has a private pilot license from South Africa and wants to become a commercial pilot in India. However, the trans man is faced with discriminatory policies from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which is refusing to give him a clearance because he’s on hormone therapy. Adam, who’s currently working as a delivery person and doing other odd jobs for his livelihood, is planning to approach the Kerala High Court against the DGCA.
In 2019, Adam received support from the Kerala government to enroll in the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology in Thiruvananthapuram. He underwent a medical test in 2020 in order to join the course and get a license, however, the DGCA blocked his request. “I received a letter from the DGCA saying I am ‘temporarily unfit to fly’ due to gender dysphoria and hormone replacement therapy (HRT),” he says. Further, Adam says he was forced to undergo the medical examination in the ‘female’ category, despite identifying as a man.
“There were only two options — male and female,” Adam tells TNM, “I cannot give tests in the male category as the biological male body is different from mine,” he says. There was no option for him to give a test as a transgender man. Compelled to take the exam in the female category, Adam failed as his testosterone levels were on the higher side than what is considered acceptable in a female body. “Since I had no choice other than attempting the medical examination as a female, my gender assigned at birth, I had to stop my hormone therapy for six months prior to the test. It isn’t an easy task for a trans person. Despite that, I failed the test,” he says.
Gender dysphoria is the psychological distress that results from an incompatibility between a person’s self-perceived gender identity, and the gender they are associated with by society based on the sex they were assigned at birth. While not all transgender persons have gender dysphoria, in India, a trans person who wants to undergo gender affirmation surgeries must be declared to have gender dysphoria by a psychiatrist. Further, trans persons who want secondary sexual characteristics of the gender they identify with, need to be on hormone therapy lifelong. For many trans persons with dysphoria, not taking hormones can worsen dysphoria. The DGCA’s letter, therefore, is not just asking Adam to choose between his gender and his ambition to become a pilot but perpetuating a vicious cycle from which there is no escape.
Adam alleges that the medical examiners weren’t pleased to see Adam — who has a beard and masculine voice — attending the exam under the women’s category. “I was bullied to undress and “prove” my gender by the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Bengaluru. They also said giving me the license would risk the lives of hundreds of people. I was even subjected to a psychometric test. I will have to quit my hormone therapy to clear the exam under the female category. I did it before giving the test earlier. Now, my doctor has advised me not to miss my treatments. I have already submitted to the letters from my psychologist and endocrinologist to prove my physical and emotional fitness,” he says.
In the writ that he will file, Adam says he will insist that the DGCA study the guidelines offered by countries like the USA and South Africa that offer flying licenses to non-binary persons, and reform the criteria to certify pilots in India. “I am eligible to fly anywhere apart from India now. In 2012, the Federal Aviation Administration of USA revised its guidelines for the aviation medical examination as an answer to pilot Tamsyn Waterhouse’s legal battle. South Africa has also rephrased its policies. I want the DGCA to not compare trans bodies with cis bodies, to avoid discrimination in the cockpit and allow even trans pilots to fly high,” he says.
In 2021, Adam cleared the medical test in South Africa and got his private license. “I began my studies in October 2016 at the Skylark Aviation Academy in Johannesburg. However, I had to discontinue as my parents stopped financially supporting me after I opened up about my gender identity on social media. I tried my best to complete my studies by doing part-time jobs in South Africa, but I couldn’t,” he explains.
Adam came back to Kerala in 2017. For a year, he was locked up by his parents at their house in Thrissur and was subjected to conversion therapy, an illegal practice where LGBTQIA+ persons are put through unscientific and painful “cures” for their sexual orientation or gender. “I tried to escape from my home twice and was successful the second time. After coming to Ernakulam in 2019, I started doing various jobs to survive. While working in Kudumbasree’s juice shop, I got to know about Kerala Government’s Social Justice Department,” he says. Adam then approached the department to avail a loan to start a juice shop but returned with a scholarship to complete his studies under the transgender welfare fund.
The government had also offered him admission at the Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy, Thiruvananthapuram, to complete his studies in Kerala. “But since I cannot fly in India, there is no point in attending just the ground classes at the academy paying the fees. With the same amount, I can easily go back to South Africa, complete my studies and work somewhere abroad,” Adam says.
The paperwork for his government grants for further studies in South Africa is underway. “The government has agreed and the paperwork is happening. I have been knocking on doors and seeking approvals for the money to be sanctioned so that I can head back to South Africa to complete my studies,” he says. “I work as a food delivery person, model, actor, and anything that pays me for a meal. It’s tough to handle the gender discrimination and homophobia around. My fight is for equal employment opportunities. Since childhood, I have dreamt of being a pilot. Why should I give up my identity to fulfill my professional dream?” Adam asks.