Say human', not he', says activist Dr A K Jayasree

KOZHIKODE: “It is high time medical education became gender sensitive. The change from ‘He’ to ‘Human’ should begin from the medical text,” said gender activist Dr A.K Jayasree. Speaking at an open discussion ‘Let us talk LGBT’ organised by the Government Medical college students’ union at College campus on Tuesday, she expressed concern that in areas like Psychiatry, the LGBT community was perceived as having a disorder.

“Maharashtra is the first to make their medical texts gender sensitive. But it is not a simple issue of referring to all humans with the word ‘He’. If it is that simple, no one would feel disturbed if ‘He’ is replaced with ‘She’,” she pointed out. Dr Jayasree said that absence of a protocol led to exploitation when people opted for hormone therapy or sex reassignment surgery. “Often private hospitals perform surgery without any guidelines and the supporting staff is not prepared at all,” she elaborated.

Speaking on the occasion, Chinju Ashwathy, an intersex said that though intersex people were seen are as differently-abled, no such official status had been bestowed by the state. “A large number of abortions are conducted in hospitals because the fetus has intersex genitalia. No study or research has been conducted in this area,” she lamented. Muhammad Zuhrabi, College union vice chairperson Shreya Mariyam Salim also spoke.