Sabia's birth certificate creates history; Sahad and Ziya recognised as 'parents'

PALAKKAD: A transgender couple had to wait three years to be listed as “parents” on their daughter’s birth certificate. Sahad Fazil and Ziya Paval, India's first transgender parents from Kozhikode, welcomed their daughter on February 8, 2023. The child has been named Sabia.

The couple had requested that the birth certificate list them as "parents" instead of the usual "father" and "mother" columns. For this, they approached the Kerala High Court and obtained a favourable order. Recently, they received Sabia's birth certificate from the Kozhikode Corporation with the term "parents" included. The ruling is expected to benefit other transgender couples in the future.

"Parents" column included by High Court Ziya Paval was assigned male at birth and later transitioned to female, while Sahad Fazil transitioned from female to male. However, in the initial birth certificate, Sahad was listed as the mother and Ziya as the father, based on biological roles. The couple refused to accept the certificate and moved the court. In June last year, the High Court ordered that a "parents" column be included in their child's birth certificate.