Thiruvananthapuram: Sexual identity has cast doubts over the candidacy of a Kerala transwoman in the local body elections. Amaya Prasad, the UDF’s transwoman candidate contesting from Pothencode in the Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat election, has approached the Kerala High Court after the District Election Officer (DEO) informed her that her nomination in a seat reserved for women might be rejected, and that she must obtain a court order to proceed.

Amaya has undergone a complete medical, psychological and legal transition and is officially recognised as female under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. She submitted that the officials informed her on November 19 that, in the absence of an explicit provision in the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act or its rules recognising transgender women as eligible for women-reserved seats, her nomination was likely to be rejected.

“The confusion arose because my gender is marked as ‘transgender’ in the voters’ list. I identify as a woman. All my identity cards and documents describe me as female. I have submitted my nomination and all supporting documents,” Amaya told Onmanorama. She added that although third-gender candidates can contest from the general category, denying a fully transitioned woman the right to contest from a women-reserved seat is discriminatory.

In her petition, Amaya argued that this stance violates her statutory right to self-perceived gender identity under Sections 4 and 5 of the 2019 Act, and infringes Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution. The writ petition also cited the Bombay High Court’s decision in Anjali Guru Sanjana Jaan, which affirmed that transgender women are entitled to be treated as women for all legal and political purposes.

Amaya, who underwent sex reassignment surgery in 2021, produced medical certificates in support of her claim. She contended that forcing her to file under the general category is arbitrary, discriminatory and violates her dignity.

She has sought a direction to the State Election Commission and the Returning Officer to accept her nomination under the women-reserved category and allow her to contest as a woman in accordance with her legally recognised gender identity.

A resident of Kalliyoor panchayat, Amaya is the State president of the Kerala Pradesh Transgender Congress (KPTC) and has been active in politics since her student days in the Kerala Students Union (KSU). A BBA graduate, she is also an actor, writer, entrepreneur and social activist.
Adv Gautham Krishna E J and Adv Rinesh E V represent her in the case.

Radhakrishna Kurup, a former consultant of the State Election Commission (SEC), said the current approach of the SEC stems from the absence of a specific legal framework. “There is no reservation for transgender persons. The voters’ list includes only three categories—male, female and transgender—and does not separately recognise transwomen.

“At present, only women can contest in women-reserved seats. As there has been no previous instance, the guidelines have not been interpreted in such a context. The applicable provisions are those under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and the Kerala Municipality Act,” he said.