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DGCA’s denial of pilot licence to transgender discriminatory: Ministry

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 transgenders, 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 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.

The Ministry of Social Justice, the nodal Ministry for implementation of policies on transgenders, has also suggested that a training be conducted to “sensitise” DGCA officials on the rights of transgenders and sought a report from the regulator on Harry’s case along with the steps undertaken by it to prevent a repeat of such incidents.

Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, R. Subrahmanyam, said there was “no time frame” given to the DGCA to respond to its letter. A senior official of the DGCA said, “we are looking into the matter. We will respond to the letter.”

“The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment would like to bring to your notice that the actions of the DGCA are in conflict with the judgment of the Supreme Court in the National Legal Services Authority case and violates the provisions stated under The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019, as it ends up being discriminatory by denying/ terminating employment or occupation on the basis of gender of the person,” according to the letter addressed to the Director General, DGCA, Arun Kumar, on July 11.

The Ministry of Social Justice has also detailed the steps the DGCA should undertake to “create special provisions” for transgenders. These include providing the option for “male, female and transgender person” to apply for all jobs regulated by the DGCA and “guidelines for licensing” for transgender persons who apply for pilot licences of different kinds. The committee that drafts the guidelines should have representatives from the transgender community and medical experts who have worked with transgender persons.

The Ministry has also asked the aviation safety regulator to develop medical standards, especially in cases where they are undergoing gender affirming medical intervention, as well as review drugs used in hormone therapy that may be allowed for consumption by pilots in a monitored manner.

“The DGCA may increase and specify the mechanism of medical check-up to monitor and keep in check the health of the pilots undergoing hormone therapy. This may include strict prohibition on intake of recreational drugs, regular check-up by cardiologists,” says the Ministry in order to curb possible side effects of a hormone treatment.

The Ministry has also asked for a sensitisation training for DGCA officials, and said a complaint officer under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 should be appointed to ensure effectiveness of such a training.