Northeast’s First Transgender Doctor Beoncy Laishram Is An Inspiration For Many

Beoncy Laishram is the first transgender doctor from the Northeast. She has been a warrior all her life, trying to understand herself and her identity along with pursuing a medical degree.  The 27-year old doctor in Imphal is not just Manipur’s first transgender woman doctor, but entire Northeast’s and is a symbol of hope for the state’s highly prominent yet marginalised Nupi Maanbi (transwoman) community.

“I was born a boy, but by the time I was in Class IX or X, I did not identify as male. I got through MBBS at RIMS in 2011, and decided to come out to my family in 2013. My father was so upset he tried to kill himself,” she recalls. “I went right back into the closet. Around 2016, I realized I could no longer live that life. It was then that I began openly identifying as a Nupi Maanbi,” she told the Times of India.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Beoncy Laishram is the first transgender woman doctor of the entire Northeast.
• Beoncy Laishram identifies herself as a post-operative transwoman after undergoing sex reassignment surgery in Puducherry.

She earlier went by the name of Boboi Laishram, and officially changed her name to Beoncy in 2013 after participating in a high profile beauty pageant ‘Miss Trans Queen Northeast.’ Laishram has repaired ties with her parents and is currently on good terms with them.

She identifies herself as a post-operative transwoman after undergoing sex reassignment surgery in Puducherry. Presently, she is also working towards helping the disadvantaged Nupi Maanbis get access to healthcare. “Human beings are all equal. We didn’t look at Beoncy’s gender while hiring her,” said noted surgeon Sorokhaibam Jugindra, medical superintendent of Shija Hospitals and Research Institute, where Beoncy works, TOI reported.

Currently, this former student of Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Imphal, is fighting against COVID-19. She is also preparing for a post-graduation entrance exam.

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Picture Credit: Times of India

Alankrita Arora is an intern at SheThePeople.TV