‘The Trans Act has made my life hell’: How India's trans community is navigating daily life since the change

As gender affirming care towards trans persons stopped, surgery has become impossible for many. PIC/ISTOCK

Back in July, Anaya Bangar, daughter of cricketer Sanjay Bangar, made a video talking about the toll it had taken on her to legally transition to a woman after the Transgender (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026, came into force. "I was asked to undress and have my whole body assessed in a room full of doctors that included men and… an invasive gynecological exam was also performed. I remember lying there thinking, ‘Why do I have to prove that body, to be recognised as who I am on paper?'" she asks.

Her video came at a time when most of the country - and even a section of the trans community - had no idea how things were going to change with the amendment. "I am sharing this because not all of us know what this process can involve, and I hope we can all agree that legal recognition should respect people's dignity," Bangar says in the clip.

Anaya Bangar in the video in which she related the incident where she was asked to strip. PIC/INSTAGRAM
@anayabangar

Despite this paper's sustained reportage on the Act, the protests against it, and the emotional and psychological toll it has taken on queer folk, even we had to brace ourselves while hearing the stories that have emerged from the trans community.

Under the guise of making the process more structured, what has unfolded is multiple stories of trans persons being told to run from pillar to post for their documentation, arguing in one government office after another with babus who are too scared to give approvals, leaving them no choice but to stand in front of a medical panel that has little to no context of the trans experience.

‘I do not exist on paper'

Vibhu's life is stuck in red tape as he starts the process for legal recognition as a trans man again

Vibhu is 25 years old and works in United Kingdom as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) advisor. He underwent gender-affirming surgery on June 15.

The process is designed to humiliate and force you to give up, he says. "I started planning to get my surgery done in India in January-February, and then the Act came into effect." Amid stress over the cost of the surgery, and rising airfares, his doctor in India told him that his surgeries had been suspended. "I panicked. I had been saving up for all this. Then a day later, the doctor texted back saying they are doing it. That was really a horrible day," he adds.

Vibhu says he is without papers

Vibhu's Transgender (TG) card is now invalid. He wants to be recognised as a man on paper. If cisgender persons think they have it rough at government offices, Vibhu'a account should be eye-opener: "The staff is not trained, so all they say is ‘I don't know, go to the next guy', or ‘Yaha nahi, waha daliye [don't submit the papers here, please go there]'. Most of the employees at the Aadhaar office felt they could announce to other people sitting there that I am trans. Not that I am ashamed of it; I am fine screaming to the world, but a government employee should not be."

"They [government staff] would say ‘Naam aur gender change karna toh hume nahi aata hai [We don't know how to change your name and gender]'. You cannot change your name and gender at the same time, so you will just have to come back again.. And the way they give you all this information is also in a voice laced with stigma," he adds.

‘They wouldn't let me have surgery till my mom spoke up'

Sarvagya, who underwent a hysterectomy on September 7, after weeks of bureaucracy and humiliation

Twenty-six-year-old Sarvagya hails from a small town in Rajasthan. He began his hormone therapy in 2022 and was due to transition surgically early this year, but the Trans Act delayed his plans. "I got my gender identity dysphoria certificate and then started my hormone replacement therapy in June 2022. It took me two years to gather Rs 1.5 lakh for the mastectomy [top surgery], which I did in 2024. At the time, it was very easy and seamless. All I had to tell the doctor was ‘This is my issue, and this is what I want to do'. My maternal family was against it, so I did the surgery on my own with the support of two friends," he recalls.

Sarvagnya says family or natal family approval had made it impossible for many to even attempt the surgery

"Next, I was due for a hysterectomy [removal of the uterus]. I had planned to do this last year, but could not save up enough," he adds. Then, the amendment came into effect in March, and Sarvagya was in a panic. "In August, I was facing some gastric issues, and an ultrasound followed by The PET-CT revealed a massive 30 cm tumour emerging from left ovary and had grown through my abdomen and pelvis, occupying almost the entire space.. I asked the doctor if they could do a hysterectomy while removing the tumour, but then my primary surgeon got a call from the medical staff of the hospital, stating that they cannot perform the surgery without some clearances," he says.

Sarvagya

"Then it hit me. I asked my surgeon, ‘Is this regarding the Trans Act?' A few hours later, they confirmed that it was," he adds. What followed was a humiliation ritual similar to Bangar's ordeal. "They made me sit in front of a medical board, which consisted of 10 doctors. Despite the fact that I hold a transgender card from 2023 that I got from the government, despite legally transitioning in 2024, and holding every document. They said they would remove the tumour, but not the uterus," he recalls.

By then, Sarvagya had won the support of his family, and brought his mother to testify before the medical board. "They told my mother that if she agreed to this, her child would be infertile and never be able to have a baby. My mother knew what I wanted, so she didn't flinch. But what about those kids whose parents are already in two minds? They will be scared out of their mind," he says.

Because his mother held her ground, the officials finally cleared him for the hysterectomy, which took place on September 7. Sarvagya is still recovering from the operation, but it's the exhausting journey till here that has caused more pain. "Sorry if I overwhelmed you," he then tells us, "but his Act has made my life hell."

Know your rights

What is the legal stance on gender-affirming surgery now, we ask Raghavi Shukla. "As far as the surgery and legality is concerned, right to health and healthcare are very much recognised. They are within the Constitution and fundamental rights therein. So, legality is not the issue," she says.

Raghavi Shukla (she/her) is a trans woman and practises in the Supreme Court

"The surgeries are still happening, a lot of people are going for it, but there are a few things happening. Some government hospitals have been turning people away. Private facilities are also asking people to do a lot more procedural stuff, such as getting an affidavit or undertaking [absolving the doctor of any responsibility for the decision], or getting parents' consent," she says. "So, multiple layers are being introduced and the sense of agency over your own body is completely gone," she adds.

‘A national public health emergency'

Air Cmde (Dr) Sanjay Sharma (Retd), CEO of the Association for Transgender Health of India, says public healthcare for trans folk has come to a grinding halt

Air Cmde (Dr) Sanjay Sharma (Retd), who is the CEO of the Association for Transgender Health of India (ATHI), insists that this is a national public health emergency. "If you go by studies, two per cent of the country's population is affected by this amendment; this comes to around two crore individuals. So, yes, it is a national public health emergency."

"The Health Ministry has not made it clear if doctors can give gender-affirming care including medical and surgical interventions without getting into trouble. They need to put out a clear directive that states that as long as doctors do their due diligence, they can go ahead and provide the gender-affirming care that trans persons deserve," he says.

Dr Sanjay Sharma

"Also, refusal by doctors working in government hospitals has pushed the transgender persons to seek care from private practitioners resulting in an increase in the cost of care. Doctors are also lawyering up, asking for multiple affidavits. Trans persons are left with no choice but to sign whatever is presented before them, and pay whatever is asked of them," he adds.

Another nuance that the Amendment to the Trans Act seems to have missed entirely is, as Dr Sharma points out, that gender incongruence is also a spectrum. "Not all gender incongruent persons experience the same degree of gender dysphoria or need the same quantum of medical or surgical interventions in their transition journey. But the amendment is forcing the transgender persons to undergo medical transition in order to change the gender markers in official documents. They no longer have any other way to get the paperwork that recognises their gender identity," he adds with unquestioning finality.