Mumbai lady cop seeks approval for gender reassignment surgery
The patients require rehabilitation after surgery as well as hormone replacement therapy throughout their lifetime.
Mumbai: A 25-year-old woman constable attached to Beed city’s Majalgaon police station has requested the superintendent of the Beed police to allow her to undergo gender reassignment surgery. The officer, Smita Deshpande (name changed), has filed an application, which is currently pending in the establishment department of the Director General of Police’s (DGP) office.
Confirming the news, G Sreedhar, Superintendent of Beed said, “We have forwarded the application to the DGP’s office.” If she goes ahead with the surgery, Deshpande would be the first female government servant to change her sex.
Asked if Deshpande would able to continue her service after she gets permission for the surgery, Sreedhar said, “The final call will taken by a superior authority. There is no such rule or law about such matters. It’s a her personal matter and the decision to remain in the service would be hers.”
Stating that she always felt that she’s a man trapped in woman’s body, Deshpande said, “I thought I wouldn’t be able to afford sex change surgery so I approached the doctors of JJ Hospital in Mumbai. After talking to senior doctors, I was happy to learn that it could be done. I have taken a call to go ahead with this surgery.”
Throwing light upon gender reassignment surgery, a doctor from the state-run hospital said, “It entails various stages. Sex change surgery is unlike any other routine surgery. It involves a multidisciplinary approach.” The doctors involved in such a process include a psychiatrist (for evaluation), and a team of surgeons, including a plastic surgeon, urologist, gynaecologist and an endocrinologist. The patients require rehabilitation after surgery as well as hormone replacement therapy throughout their lifetime.
Famous cases
- Businessman Ajay Mafatlal of the Yogindra Mafatlal Group, who was born Aparna Mafatlal, underwent surgery in November 2003 at the age of 46.
- Guwahati resident Bidhan Barua, who is now called Swati, underwent the surgery in 2013 after moving the high court to challenge her disapproving parents.