BHUBANESWAR: The recent Supreme Court judgement validating sexual relationship between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) has come as a blessing for a transgender Odisha bureaucrat who now wants to marry her boyfriend. Aishwarya Rutuparna Pradhan, the transgender hailing from the obscure Kanabagiri village under G Udaygiri block in Kandhamal district, cracked the Odisha Public Sevice Commission conducted Odisha Financial Services examinations in 2010. She is currently posted as commercial tax officer at port town Paradip.
Formerly named as Ratikanta Pradhan, Aishwarya was conferred transgender status by a special gazette notification of the Odisha government in 2017. “On September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court of India struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), paving the way for dignified living for LGBTQ. Now, we are waiting for the SC giving its stamp approval to same-sex marriage, inheritance of property in accordance with right to equality,” said Aishwarya. The 34-year-old Odisha’s first third gender bureaucrat has decided marry her live-in partner and adopt a girl child.
“Now marriage is confined to male and female only. The court needs to empower citizens like us to legally marry the man whom we love, adore and respect. It’s a matter of time only. The apex court would be kind enough to confer these rights to us,” she said. The apex court ruling dated April 15, 2014 recognising the transgender under the third gender category and guaranteeing their constitutional rights was a shot in the arm for LGBTQ.
“I had made up my mind to opt for third gender identity instead of male gender and written to the state government. Only last year, I have been recognised officially as transgender on all official records,” she said. “The general public is appreciative of my work. They all like and respect me. I never felt belittled being a third-gender,” she said.
Stating that she and her friends were eagerly waiting for the implementation of same sex marriage law or a new law for LGBTQ community, Aishwarya said this would help LGBTQ community lead dignified life. Aishwarya is an MA in public administration and also a post-graduate diploma from Indian Institute of mass communication. Her father served in the army. She did an internship with a national daily before opting for a clerk job in a nationalised bank.
On her new gender identity, Aishwarya said it had not posed any sort of hindrances in discharging responsibilities and duties assigned to her. “The general public is appreciative of my work. They all like and respect me. I never felt belittled being a third-gender,” she said. The conference witnessed the participation of over 130 companies from India and abroad and hundreds of delegates.
