Prachi Rathod and Ruth John Paul Koyyala became the first transgender people to hold government jobs in the state.
Updated – Thu, 12/12/22 at 10:47pm
Prachi Rathod and Ruth John Paul Koyyala became the first transgender people to hold government jobs in the state.
Hyderabad: Two transgender doctors have made history in Telangana state by finding jobs as medical officers at the government-run Osmania General Hospital.
Prachi Rathod and Ruth John Paul Koyyala became the first transgender people to hold government jobs in the state. Both were named medical officers at leading hospitals last week.
It was seen as a major success for transgender groups in their fight to be treated on an equal footing with others in government appointments.
Both transgender people are grateful to the state government for appointing them to finally end the social exclusion and discrimination they suffered despite their qualifications.
Ruth John Paul from Khammam is delighted to have a job at Osmania, the state’s oldest and largest public hospital.
It was a huge success for the 28-year-old as she was rejected by 15 hospitals in Hyderabad since she got her MBBS from Malla Reddy Institute of Medical Sciences.
According to Dr. Ruth, the hospital denied her a job because of her status.
Meanwhile, Dr Prachi found a job at a private hospital in Hyderabad after graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine from the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Adilabad in 2015.
However, when she began her transition, the hospital asked her to leave.
The 30-year-old was told her status would prevent patients from coming to the hospital.
Despite three years of service at a super-specialty hospital and her professional skills, she lost her job due to social stigma.
An NGO came to their rescue. Both Prachi and Ruth were appointed to a transgender clinic in Hyderabad last year. They went on to try and get government jobs and eventually succeeded.
They now have their sights set on post-graduation. They appeared in the NEET PG exam as transgender women but were not given any reserved seats, which they say violated the Supreme Court’s 2014 NALSA decision.
The Supreme Court has recognized transgender people as a third gender and reserved them for admission to educational institutions and jobs.
