Zahhad was 23 when he decided to put his entire life on hold.
He had been with Ziya Paval, his partner, for three years in Kozhikode, Kerala. Both had begun their gender transitions years earlier: hormone therapy, surgeries, the long journey toward their definitive bodies. Zahhad had already undergone breast removal surgery. But one day that process stopped. They wanted a child, and to make it happen, Zahhad paused his transition and became pregnant.
On February 8, 2023, their baby was born by cesarean section at the Government Medical College Hospital, weighing 2.920 kilos. It was the first documented case in India of a transgender man giving birth. But the story did not end there: when the time came to register the child, the couple asked for something no form contemplated—that Ziya be listed as the mother and Zahhad as the father.
The hospital did not know how to respond. The case reached the Kerala High Court, which ultimately ruled in their favor: both could simply appear as ‘parents,’ without labels that did not represent who they are.