KOZHIKODE: When Amala (name changed), a young trans woman from Kozhikode, walked into a hospital with severe abdominal pain, the doctor’s hesitation wasn’t just clinical--it was personal. Questions unrelated to her health condition, awkward stares, and whispered consultations with other staff left her feeling humiliated, rather than cared for. For countless queer individuals across Kerala, healthcare often feels less like healing and more like surviving judgement.
Determined to change this, the NGO Queer Malabaris is launching a bold new initiative: The Queer Medico Wing. The pathbreaking programme aims to sensitise doctors across Kerala to the needs and rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals, making healthcare a space of dignity, not discrimination.
The initiative, expected to roll out in the coming weeks, is designed to address a long-standing gap in the state’s healthcare system: The lack of awareness and confidence among many medical professionals when treating queer and trans individuals.
“Even today, many doctors hesitate or feel unsure when it comes to treating queer people, especially those who’ve undergone gender-affirming procedures,” said a core member of Queer Malabaris. “It’s not due to malice, but because they were never taught how to engage or treat us with dignity and understanding. This initiative is about changing that.”
Talking in detail about the initiative, Dr Arjun, executive board member of Queer Malabaris, said, “The first phase of the project will focus on awareness-building through workshops, interactive sessions and educational modules. These sessions will be open to medical professionals from all sectors--public, private, and academic--with the goal of embedding queer sensitivity into mainstream healthcare conversations. Basic grounding will be followed by specialised, hands-on training where doctors in the group will get an opportunity to work with medial experts or hospitals specialised in surgeries and other medical procedures for queer people."
Dr Arjun added, “Finally these trained and certified doctors under the Queer Medico Wing will be referred to members who seek queer-friendly doctors for any medical service.”
Learning from neglect
The journey towards this initiative didn’t begin overnight. Earlier, a group of queer individuals from different parts of the state had come together to draft a comprehensive medical protocol specifically tailored for queer patients. This included guidelines on how to treat transgender individuals, particularly those who have undergone gender-affirming surgeries. The draft was submitted to the Kerala chief minister, with hopes that it would evolve into a state-level policy.
However, despite the effort, the proposal did not move forward within the government system. Undeterred, Queer Malabaris has now taken matters into its own hands. With the upcoming medico wing, they hope to reach the grassroots of the healthcare system and plant the seeds of inclusive practice--one doctor at a time.
“Our bodies deserve care, not curiosity. Our identities deserve respect, not judgement. We’re not asking for special treatment--just the right to be treated like any other human being,” said a transgender activist closely associated with the campaign.