Amid the many trends and posts going viral on social media, one that is being talked about the most and is also being hailed as a sign of India’s progress towards gender inclusivity is that of a transgender couple from Kozhikode announcing their pregnancy.
The pregnancy photoshoot of Ziya Paval (21) and her partner Zahad (23) has become a massive talking point with media outlets in India and even abroad carrying the report of their pregnancy.
Time brought us together. It’s been three years. Like my dream of being a mother, his dream of being a father.”
Zahad was born a female at birth, and his partner, who is undergoing a male-to-female transition, paused the transition process last year to be able to become parents. For the sex-transition surgery, doctors had removed the breasts but not the reproductive organs and so the couple has been able to conceive normally.
“Though I was not a woman by birth or by my body, I had the feminine dream inside me to hear a baby calling me ‘mother’. It has been three years since we are together. Like my dream of becoming a mother, he (Zahad) has a dream of becoming a father and today a life of eight months is moving in his belly with his full consent,” Ziya says.
“Supported our decisions to make our wishes come true. India’s first TRAN’S MAN PREGNANCY. Heartfelt thanks to my Ithak, brother-in-law, his mother, sister and Dr who stood with full support to us as a small family in our lonely life,” she further added.
Ziya, a dancer, was born as a male child in a traditional Muslim family in Malappuram district and had to face societal scorn for her decision to embrace her female identity in her late teens. Similarly, Zahad was born as a girl in a fishing family in Thiruvananthapuram and had largely lived in orphanages as his family lost their home in Cyclone Ockhi in 2017. He too faced the kind of ostracism from society that most transpeople go through, as he wished to be male. They met in Kozhikode in a get-together of transpersons and fell in love.
The couple have the support of the staff at Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kozhikode, who are equally nervous, at the same time anxiously waiting for the arrival of the baby. Since Zahad has already removed his breasts as part of gender transition, the couple will depend on the ‘breast milk bank’ of the MCH to feed the baby.
The couple had first considered adopting a baby but there were many legal hurdles, Onmanorama reported. Then, they decided to conceive.
When asked about his family reaction, he explains that initially his mother had vehemently opposed the pregnancy, but has now warmed up to the idea of a grandchild.
“My mother was very scared about how the society will treat us. My child will be the first baby in our family. She was thrilled that I am becoming a mother and pushed me to become a woman again. But I made it very clear. Finally, she has accepted our truth and told us to live without being concerned about what others may say,” he added.
