Transwoman lecturer returns to art college: Samira Nayak's journey of self-realisation

Berhampur: Three years ago, when she was a student at the Govt College of Art and Craft in Ganjam district’s Khallikote, Samira Nayak identified herself as Samir. Last July, she returned to the same campus as a guest lecturer — and a 26-year-old woman, marking a personal journey of transition that she said was driven by self-realisation.

A native of Khallikote, Samira said the process of gender transition took nearly a year. She now identifies as a transwoman and believes she may be among the first openly transwoman in the state’s artist community.


“I pursued gender transition for my own sense of fulfilment,” she said. During her student days, Samira recalled feeling more aligned with her female peers, preferring their company and struggling with discomfort in a male identity. “I wanted to undergo the transition even then, but as a student enrolled under a male identity, it was not possible,” she said.

After completing her undergraduate course in fine arts in 2023, Samira began the formal process of transition in 2024. She underwent medical procedures at a private hospital outside the state last year and is now under medical observation, advised by her doctors.

“Today, I feel happier and more comfortable in my own identity,” she said, dismissing notions of social taboo around gender transition. Samira has already updated her name in her Aadhaar records and is in the process of changing details in other official documents, including academic certificates.

She said she has faced no discrimination within her circle of friends after her transition. “My focus now is on higher studies in painting,” she added, describing it as her most compelling artistic pursuit.

Her journey also coincides with expanding legal recognition for transgenders. In June last year, the Andhra Pradesh high court ruled that transwomen cannot be denied recognition as women under law solely on the ground that they cannot bear children.