"After a long wait, our dream came true this morning at 9.37 am, with the sound of loud crying," wrote Ziya Paval on her Instagram page on Wednesday, February 8, announcing the birth of her baby. She and her partner, Zahad Fazil, a transgender couple in Kerala, were in the news last week for their decision to be biological parents after all other options had failed them. Photo shoots of the couple had gone viral all over social media.
Zahad, a trans man, temporarily stopped his hormone therapy to be pregnant so that the couple could be parents as early as possible. Ziya, a trans woman and dancer in Kozhikode with a penchant for language, wrote that the baby came, taking in the first breath of earth-air, with barely open eyes experiencing the first sight of light.
Both the baby and Zahad are doing well. The couple reportedly did not want to reveal the gender of the baby. Ziya has thanked all those who stood with the couple. A day earlier, TNM wrote about their reasons for the couple choosing to be pregnant. Adoption was not an option for transgender persons, Ziya had said, adding that there did not seem to be a way for trans women to get pregnant.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George called Ziya on the phone and congratulated the couple on Wednesday evening. The minister asked the Kozhikode Medical College IMCH (Institute of Maternal and Child Health) superintendent to provide all treatment for free, according to a statement from her office. She also arranged for breast milk to be provided to the baby from the human milk bank. Zahad had undergone breast removal surgery and was in the process of going through gender affirmation when he and Ziya decided to get pregnant.
Zahad had a caesarean delivery, days ahead of the expected delivery date.