Two transgender candidates have qualified to contest the upcoming local polls from women-only divisions, a first in the state.
The candidatures of Amaya Prasad and Arunima M. Kurup, fielded by the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha, were approved by the respective returning officers on Saturday (November 22, 2025), paving the way for them to contest the civic polls.
While Ms. Prasad will contest from Pothencode division of Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat, Ms. Kurup will seek the popular seat from Vayalar division in Alappuzha district panchayat.
Ms. Prasad’s candidacy drew some initial objections because her gender was marked as “transgender” on the photo voter’s ID card issued by the Election Commission. A male by birth, Ms. Prasad later changed her gender to female after undergoing gender reassignment surgery. She complained that her request to update her gender to female was pending.
However, the Returning Officer accepted her objections and approved her nomination on the day.
“There was no such difficulty for my candidature from the women’s division as my gender was marked as female in all relevant records,” Ms Kurup said.
Incidentally, the State Election Commission on Saturday issued a recommendation to the returning officer of Thiruvananthapuram district, asking the officer to decide the case after considering the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which stipulated that transgender persons had the right to decide their gender. The commission also pointed out that Ms. Amaya’s gender could be considered “female” if the candidate presented the appropriate documents, including an ID card issued by a district judge identifying her as female.
Published – 22 Nov 2025 21:59 IST
