Imphal : The Manipur High Court recently recognized a transgender doctor as female and has directed authorities to update her academic and professional certificates accordingly.
Justice A. Guneshwar Sharma, in a landmark ruling on Tuesday in Manipur, allowed transgender doctor Beoncy Laishram to change her name and gender in all official records. This is the first such directive issued in the northeastern states.
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Laishram, 32, was registered as “Boboi Laishram” with male gender in her matriculation, higher secondary, MBBS, and Manipur Medical Council certificates.
She underwent gender reassignment surgery in October 2019 and later obtained a transgender certificate from the Imphal West district magistrate.
Her Aadhaar, Voter ID, and PAN cards were updated, but education and medical boards had declined to amend her earlier records.
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She approached the High Court after being denied opportunities, including an attempt to appear for NEET-PG, due to inconsistencies in her documents.
The court has now directed the Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BOSEM), Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur (COHSEM), Manipur University (MU), and the Manipur Medical Council (MMC) to issue revised certificates within a month.
It also instructed the Manipur chief secretary to ensure all state institutions incorporate provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and Transgender Rules, 2020, to prevent similar cases in the future.
Recognizing her contribution, the court observed, “She, being a pioneer and a qualified doctor, will serve as an inspiration to other transgender persons to seek justice.”