VADODARA: The term "gender bender" has taken on a near-surreal twist with a Gujarat govt official set to oversee Tuesday's Lok Sabha ballot for the first time as a woman after a 2020 gender reassignment surgery turned the individual from male to female.
Vadodara deputy mamlatdar (revenue official) "Mr Nilesh Maheta" is now "Ms Bijal Maheta" after the surgery. Maheta has been on duty in all three general elections since 2009 - as "Mr Nilesh".
Despite being different in many ways, Maheta feels a deep sense of belonging to her team that has supported her unconditionally. "I am very excited about my duties as a woman. My colleagues here are more than family to me and have made me feel comfortable," she told TOI.
Maheta is posted with the election branch of the Vadodara collectorate, one among six such officials there. Maheta handles work related to nominations, law and order, critical polling stations, webcasting and others. Earlier posted at Porbandar, Maheta moved to Vadodara in 2023 due to the follow-ups of her treatment.
"I used to come frequently for treatment to Vadodara and Ahmedabad. Shifting to Vadodara was, therefore, convenient," Maheta said, adding she underwent the sex reassignment surgery after four years of counselling and hormonal therapy. Maheta had been uncomfortable with her earlier gender identity since Class 9. "It was difficult to share my feelings with others at that time. It was only around 2012 that I decided I wanted to be a woman," she added.
After the surgery, Maheta admitted she was worried about her job, having heard about such individuals facing problems in other states. "Some of those who underwent SRS in other states had to approach courts. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Right) Act 2020 shielded me and it was then that I decided to undergo the surgery," she said.
The path to self-acceptance, though, was not without obstacles. Having given into pressure from family to marry, Maheta has had two failed marriages as Nilesh. "I would like to get married again, but it is difficult given the situation I have faced in the marriages earlier," she said.
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