LUCKNOW: The UP police department is grappling with a tricky situation as two women constables, one posted in Gorakhpur and the other in Gonda, have sought permission from the headquarters for gender change through surgery.
While change of sex through surgical procedure is not a new phenomenon, the state police authorities are facing such an issue for the first time. The department is faced with the awkward question of how they could permit the constables to change their gender after getting them recruited as women cops.
According to highly placed sources in police department, the two constables had applied for gender change permission and mentioned different reasons. The authorities believe that if the two women cops are permitted to undergo sex change, how would other physical criteria required for male constables be matched in them if they are considered as male constables after surgery.
The physical criteria like height, running capacity and shoulder strength for male and female categories are different. Those recruited as female cops would not be able to match other physical attributes required to be considered as male cop.
According to a senior police official, recruitment criteria meant for men and women are strictly followed in UP Police. The women constables after getting their gender changed to male would defy the norms.
The sources claimed that the police department made similar submissions in the Allahabad High Court when one of the two women constables approached the court after failing to get permission for gender change as she had been pursuing her case since January this year.
“The court asked the headquarters again to reconsider the request of the woman constable on merit basis and further prepare some norms for similar cases that may come up again in future,” said another senior police official of the UP Police headquarters.
The sources claimed that the police authorities had already written a letter to King George’s Medical University of Lucknow (KGMU) to get medical examination of both the constables done through a medical board and give their opinion.
Consultations were on with all the stake-holders related to women and gender issues, apart from medical and legal experts, before coming to a final conclusion, said the sources. The High Court had posted the matter for the next hearing in the first week of December.
