India's First Trans Pilot Declared 'Unfit' By DGCA, Works As Delivery Agent Now

23-year-old Adma Harry, who identifies as a transgender man and comes from Kerala, always had a dream to become a pilot so that he could fly a plane. He made his dream come true when the Kerala government supported him in 2020 for undergoing training to become a commercial pilot. The same year, Harry underwent a medical examination to join the course. He was declared 'unfit' by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, DGCA, as he was undergoing hormone therapy.

Harry opened up on the incident and mentioned that a transgender person will always have to undergo hormone therapy, but that doesn't mean we are weaker than any other people. He claimed he was forced to take the aviation test as a female because the medical examination form didn't have an option for non-binary people. Harry is now set to take DGCA to Kerala High Court as they titled him as 'unfit to fly due to hormone therapy which is required for Harry to undergo a transition from his biological gender.

'Transphobic DGCA'

Harry said, "Ever since childhood, my dream was to become a pilot. Today, I have become a pilot, but I am a pilot who is not allowed to fly. Like a bird whose wings are clipped off forcefully. Simply because some people are uncomfortable with the person I am." Harry added that the officials at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Bengaluru were transphobic as they forced me to go through a psychometric test which doesn't happen to all candidates.

Things didn't stop becoming more challenging for Harry as his parents stopped supporting him after he disclosed his gender identity on a social media platform. His parents made a complete cut-off when he went to Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2016 to pursue pilot training at Skylark Aviation and revealed his identity. Harry tried to continue his studies as his parents even ceased seeking financial assistance. He engaged in several gig works but had to return to his due to a lack of financial support.

When he returned home, things started getting worse for him as his parents refused to accept his gender identity. Harry said, "Things got worse for me when I returned home because my parents refused to identify my gender identity. I was verbally abused and forced to undergo conversion therapy to return to 'Normal'." I was locked inside a room for a long time, but I managed to escape my house in 2019." Harry took up many part-time jobs like becoming a delivery boy to make ends meet till 2020 when he got support from the Kerala government for aviation training in the Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Training Academy. But the DGCA restricted his medical examination, and now Harry is set to take DGCA to Kerala High Court, reported The Quint.

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