KOZHIKODE: In a significant victory that redraws the boundaries of family law in India, transgender couple Zahad and Ziya Paval have secured a gender-neutral birth certificate of their daughter Zabiya.
The document, which replaces the traditional ‘Father’ and ‘Mother’ labels with the inclusive term ‘Parents’, marks the culmination of a determined three-year struggle against bureaucratic rigidity.
The couple captured the nation’s attention in February 2023 when Zahad made history by becoming the first transgender man in India to conceive and give birth. However, the joy of parenthood was quickly met with a legal hurdle: the Kozhikode corporation insisted on recording Zahad as the ‘mother’ and Ziya as the ‘father’ officially. For the couple, accepting the labels meant denying their true selves.
“Our fight was for our identity. We insisted from the beginning that our official documents must reflect who we truly are,” said Ziya. When the couple faced technical issues in the documentation process, they moved the High Court. There, they argued that forcing gendered roles onto their family structure infringed upon their fundamental rights. Backed by their lawyer, Padma Lakshmi, they successfully lobbied for a certificate that honours their transition while documenting their daughter’s lineage.
On the court’s intervention, the couple expressed a profound sense of relief. “Replacing the gender-specific columns with ‘Parents’ is a huge recognition of our transition and our lives,” Ziya said.
Beyond the courtroom, the couple has become digital pioneers, using social media to normalise their lives. From celebrating Vishu to teaching their daughter her first letters, they share their daily routine with thousands of followers to dismantle prejudice.
“When we shared photos of the maternity shoot, we severe hate comments on social media. Now, the entire situation has changed and we are getting all positive comments. We express our lives through our videos... Be it celebrating festivals like Vishu and Onam or simply little moments like the baby learning letters while we sit together, every moment we create is from our real-life events,” Ziya said.
The response to their videos has been increasingly supportive, with followers often commending the couple for their parenting skills and the evident warmth within their household. This transparency is credited with shifting public perspective on the capabilities and rights of transgender individuals to build traditional family structures.