Woman lawyer undergoes sex change to marry girlfriend

The doctors of Vivekananda Hospital, Bhubaneshwar carried out the operation after the girl threatened to commit suicide and later signed an affidavit stating her willingness to undergo the surgery.

Sex reassignment surgery (or SRS) is a term for the surgical operation by which a person's physical appearance and functioning of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble that of the other sex.

Social pressures reason behind the gender transition?
The 36-year-old woman lawyer of Orissa High Court said, “I did not want a family life which is being forced on girls in our society."

"This society is mostly male dominated, where girls have no voice of their own. I feel free now. No one can force me to marry. It is better to become a man to get rid of sufferings met by women," she said from her hospital bed on Saturday.

Sources close to her, however, revealed that she was 'close to a girl' and wanted to spend the rest of her life with her. It is speculated that the woman feared her girlfriend would marry a boy one day and part with her.

Also, the woman did not inform her parents before subjecting to SRS since her parents were planning to get her married.

Surgery details
The woman was operated upon by a team of surgeons on June 29. During the seven-hour operation, the doctors removed her female organs, including the uterus, ovary and breasts through laparoscopy, and planted necessary male organs via cosmetic surgery.

Dr. Akshya Kumar Rout, plastic and cosmetic surgeon at Vivekananda Hospital, who operated on her, said that though she will be able to lead the life of a normal man, she will not be able to father a child.

Moreover, she will be injected some hormones to develop masculine attributes like a male voice, beard, and moustache, he added.

However, sexologists claim that a female to male transgender cannot achieve natural erections.

Women activists all over India have expressed surprise on the issue.