Two transgender doctors in Telangana get govt jobs

Hyderabad, Dec 1:  Two transgender doctors made history in Telangana by landing jobs as medical officers in the government-run Osmania General Hospital.

Prachi Rathod and Ruth John Paul Koyyala became the first transgenders to get government jobs in the state. Both were appointed as a medical officer in the leading hospital last week.

This is seen as a major success by the transgender community in its fight to be treated at par with others in the matter of appointments in the government sector.

Both the transgenders thanked the state government for appointing them to finally end social exclusion and discrimination they were subjected to despite their qualification.

Hailing from Khammam, Ruth John Paul is elated over securing the job in Osmania, the oldest and biggest government-run hospital in the state.

It was a huge success for the 28-year-old as she was rejected by 15 hospitals in Hyderabad ever since she completed MBBS from Malla Reddy Institute of Medical Sciences.

According to Dr. Ruth, it was because of her identity the hospitals refused to give her a job.

Meanwhile, Dr. Prachi, after doing MBBS from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Adilabad in 2015, had secured a job at a private hospital in Hyderabad.

However, when she started her transition, the hospital asked her to leave.

The 30-year-old was told that her identity would dissuade patients from coming to the hospital.

Despite serving at the super-speciality hospital for three years and her professional skills, she lost the job due to the social stigma.

A Non-Governmental Organisation came to their rescue. Both Prachi and Ruth were appointed in a transgender clinic in Hyderabad last year. They continued their efforts to secure government jobs and finally succeeded.

They now have their eyes set on post-graduation. They appeared in NEET PG exams as trans women but did not get any reserved seats which, they say, is a violation of the Supreme Court's NALSA judgement of 2014.

The Supreme Court had recognised transgenders as third gender and provided reservation to them in admission to education institutions and jobs.