“It’s a peculiar case”; man loses job over his personal choices

Have you ever wondered how different the person in front of you is? Different to the point that they may have been a man or a woman before?

A woman underwent a sex change operation and was soon without a job.

Last year an official in the state of Jharkhand underwent a sex reassignment surgery — also known as genital reconstruction surgery.

Pratibha Tiwari, 28-year-old had been appointed “lady supervisor” in the Women and Child Welfare Department, but in March last year she underwent sex reassignment surgery and took on the name Pranay Tiwari. 

Happy with his new avatar; replacing the usual salwar-kameez outfit with shirt and pants was ready to resume his work. Only to be denied a job.

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The post of lady supervisor is reserved only for women, and his operation had disqualified him.

As repeated requests to assign him a “man’s job” went in vain, the bewildered official requested his department to allow him to continue as “lady supervisor” until he found a suitable job. But this request was turned down, too.

Eventually, Tiwari rushed to the Chief Minister’s office, seeking his intervention. He petitioned the chief minister’s office in November last year.

After weeks-long deliberation, the official has been reassigned to the job of statistical assistant in the same Women and Child Welfare Department. He was given the new job after permission from the Personnel and Law Department.

“This is the first time that we received such a peculiar case,” an official in the chief minister’s office said.