Beoncy Laishram
IMPHAL: Beoncy Laishram, who broke the glass ceiling by becoming the Northeast’s first transgender doctor, won another landmark battle Tuesday when Manipur high court acknowledged her right to have all academic certificates reissued to reflect her “female” name and gender. The court directed the authorities to issue the certificates Beoncy had applied for within a month of the order.Beoncy, born male and known as Boboi Laishram before undergoing gender reassignment surgery in Oct 2019, got her Aadhaar, voter ID and PAN updated by producing a transgender certificate issued by the district magistrate of Imphal West.She approached the high court in Feb 2024 after the Board of Secondary Education Manipur, Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur, Manipur University and Manipur Medical Council refused to change her name and gender in their records. Beoncy’s counsel Jayna Kothari cited sections 5, 6 and 7 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, while arguing for her right to have the requisite modifications made in her academic certificates. The law applies to all official documents, including one’s birth certificate.The court ruled that the relevant provisions outlined in sections 6 and 7 of the Act must be incorporated into all laws, rules and regulations governing establishments within Manipur, as defined under Section 2(b) of the legislation. For Beoncy, the judgment comes as “a relief” that she can now build on her career without having to worry about identity confusion. “I have been thinking of specialising in surgery or gynaecology someday. I was scared I would be made to stay in a boys’ hostel just because my academic records say I am a male,” she said.
