KOCHI: In a major breather for the state’s first transgender parents, the Kerala High Court has instructed the Kozhikode Corporation to issue a new birth certificate for their child that identifies them as ‘parents’ instead of designating them as ‘father’ and ‘mother’.
The high court’s ruling involves the removal of the traditional columns for the names of the father and mother, allowing the names of the petitioners to be listed as ‘parents’ without any reference to their genders.
This order was passed in response to a petition filed by Zahhad and Ziya from Kozhikode, who challenged the corporation’s earlier decision. On the original birth certificate, Ziya’s name appears as the father (noted as Ziya Paval, Transgender), while Zahhad is listed as the mother (simply recorded as Zahhad, Transgender).
The petitioners sought a revised birth certificate that altogether omitted the specific titles of ‘father’ and ‘mother’, proposing instead to simply use ‘parent’. Their initial request to the corporation was denied.
The petitioners argued that this revision was necessary, as the biological mother of the child has identified as male for several years and now lives as a male member of society. They highlighted the contradiction in labelling a male individual as the mother of the child, which prompted their call for modifications to the birth certificate.
Zahhad and Ziya also pointed out that many other countries permit couples, particularly same-sex couples, to choose the titles on their child’s birth certificate from options like ‘mother’, ‘father’, or ‘parent’.