Corporate Pride in Hyderabad Shadowed by New Law

 Hyderabad: As Pride Month ends, corporate programmes, performances and public conversations that put queer and transgender lives on the city’s June calendar also conclude. This year, however, all of that unfolded in the shadow of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026. The Act now affects medical care, employment and participation in those same programmes. And while the courts examine its constitutional validity, the consequences have reached hospitals, company events, housing and the paperwork required for treatment.

“The amendment is now law, and we are already seeing its effects. Some doctors are hesitating to provide gender‑affirming care because they fear it may be illegal. Anti‑trans rhetoric is reaching even the most basic level of healthcare,” said Patruni Chidananda Sastry, a Hyderabad‑based gender‑fluid drag artist known as SAS and the founder of DragVanti.

Patruni placed that hesitation inside broader public conversations, noting how influencers like Orry are openly questioning gender‑neutral washrooms while adopting queer mannerisms themselves. But the unease around trans issues has entered Hyderabad’s corporate Pride programmes too. “Companies have reduced their Pride programmes this year. Even where they organise events, some limit them to lesbian, gay and bisexual communities and leave transgender people out of panels or performances because they fear complaints from employees,” said Patruni.

Healthcare in Hyderabad presents a less uniform picture. Dr Prachi Rathod, a transgender doctor and medical officer at Osmania General Hospital, said the hospital’s transgender clinic continued to treat patients under the law and the applicable medical guidelines. “The hospital is conducting surgeries and providing other treatment under the Act and the applicable guidelines. The amendment will certainly have an impact. Doctors are now following the Act strictly and treating only people who meet its eligibility rules,” Dr Rathod said disapprovingly.

As healthcare providers have also begun seeking more documents before offering gender‑affirming care because they want legal protection, patients could now face a longer process involving psychological certificates and other papers. Separately, Mitr Clinic, which had earlier shut down owing to the withdrawal of foreign aid from the US, reopened as Sabrang Clinic but remains under financial constraints, noted Patruni.

Years of work around transgender identity certificates have also entered a period of uncertainty, SAS said. Community groups began receiving enquiries and distress calls after the amendment became law. Transgender people from rural areas were among those seeking answers, while organisations and individuals had limited resources to respond. “People are panicking about what the future will look like,” said Patruni, adding, “Pride Month is highly celebratory, but trans issues are sometimes left out even within queer spaces. The queer community needs to address that.”

Government employment provides a more concrete contrast in the state, as transgender traffic volunteers have said their work is going smoothly. Dr Rathod also pointed to jobs linked to HYDRAA and the traffic police as examples of livelihood opportunities created by the Telangana government. She said the state needed to open those opportunities to a larger number of people. “The Telangana government has started giving transgender people livelihood and job opportunities through Metro, HYDRAA and the traffic police. The government should lower the eligibility criteria and recruit more people. Regular work can reduce dependence on begging and sex work and allow people to lead safer and healthier lives,” she said.

That steadier experience at work does not cut across every part of city life, and housing remains one of the clearest examples. “Housing has always been a problem. Often, queer people end up housing other queer people,” said Patruni.

Such arrangements explain part of what community means in Hyderabad outside formal Pride programmes. Queer people often rely on one another when landlords refuse them homes, when families cannot provide support or when a person needs somewhere to stay. The networks may remain small, but Patruni described them as the place where much of the city’s everyday community life now exists. “People talk about trees being cut in KBR Park, but the park also has a queer history. There were times when people cruised there. When those spaces disappear, part of the city’s queer history disappears too,” SAS said.

The remark placed Pride beyond the month’s organised events, connecting the community’s present concerns to parts of Hyderabad that held meaning before companies began arranging Pride panels or performances. “The younger generation is redefining community at the grassroots. It may be six or seven people who meet, spend time together and support one another. These smaller chosen families are becoming an important form of care,” concluded Patruni.