The Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA’s) denial of commercial pilot licence to a transgender candidate is “discriminatory” and “violates” the law on the rights of transgender people, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has written to the aviation regulator and demanded that it provide guidelines for licensing and separate medical standards to enable them to join the profession.
The letter follows an article in The Hindu on July 3 about 23-year-old Adam Harry, a trans-male, who was granted a commercial pilot licence on the condition that he stop his hormone therapy to transition into a male. But the treatment for Mr. Harry is a life-long one, and he says he can’t sacrifice his identity for his profession by discontinuing his transition. “I want to fly as who I am,” he told The Hindu.
