A transgender couple from Kerala's Kozhikode is expecting their first baby in March.
Senior Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader M K Muneer has questioned the logic behind the reports that a trans-man has delivered a baby in Kerala, saying those who believe in such a claim "live in a fool's paradise."
As the transgender community in Kerala celebrated the birth of a baby for trans-couple Ziya Paval and Zahhad here last week, Muneer has said homosexual couples can never conceive and termed as "hollow" the claim that the person who had delivered a baby in Kerala recently was a trans-man.
Ziya Paval had recently announced partner Zahhad's pregnancy, claiming that this was the first trans-man's pregnancy in India. The couple was blessed with a baby at a state-run hospital here on February 8. "Those who believe in such wonders are living in a fool's paradise," Muneer said while addressing a programme organised by Wisdom Islamic Conference here on Sunday.
The former state minister said the person who gave birth to a baby was actually a woman, although she had removed her breasts to look like a man.
"The presence of a womb in the person who gave birth to the baby proves that it was actually a woman," the Koduvally MLA said, adding that the pregnancy happens when a sperm fertilises an egg.
Muneer's statement came amid a move by the transgender couple to register their new gender identity in the birth certificate and other documents of the newborn.
Though Zahhad had delivered the child, the trans-man wanted his name to be registered as the father of the baby and Paval, his trans-woman partner as the mother.
Paval had said that a request had been submitted to the Government Medical College Hospital authorities for the same.
"We gave a letter to the hospital authorities in this regard and they assured us that it will be considered. As per the recent verdicts of the Supreme Court and the Transgender Persons Act 2019, we have the right to change our gender," she had said.
Paval had also said they have the transgender identity card issued by the Union government and so they expect that there won't be any legal hurdle to get their request granted.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)