Meet Dr Vibha Usha Radhakrishnan, Kerala's first transgender MBBS doctor

Palakkad: After living as a man for twenty years, Dr Vibha Usha Radhakrishnan challenged societal expectations and embraced her true identity as a woman. With incredible determination, she followed her passion and accomplished the extraordinary milestone of becoming Kerala's first transwoman MBBS doctor.

Many people who have discovered their true identities but are hesitant to share them with society, fearing judgment and criticism, will find inspiration in her extraordinary journey.

Dr Vibha is a 26-year-old doctor and a representative of the transgender community. She is a resident of Palakkad who completed her graduation from Kozhikode Government Medical College and started working as a doctor.

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She has made a groundbreaking achievement as a member of the transgender community, a group that faces criticism from society and has completed her medical education and become a doctor.

Dr Vibha was fortunate to have the support of her parents, both emotionally and financially, when she decided to undergo a transition, despite the challenges faced by many individuals in this world.

It took her 20 years to express her true desire and transition from Vipin to Vibha with the support of her family, relatives and friends. After completing her medical studies in house surgery, she is now practising in a private clinic and is preparing to pursue higher education in psychiatry or emergency medicine abroad.

With the family's support, she undertook gender change therapy along with her MBBS studies. Despite enduring the physical changes and pain in her body, she accomplished her MBBS degree. She also officially changed her name and gender in records.

"It was during my MBBS days that I conveyed my inner desire and feelings of a woman to a friend. Later, I conveyed it to my mother Usha, who is a teacher. Though initially upset, she tried to understand more about my desire as well as the transgender community and came to terms with it. But it took some time for my father Radhakrishnan, an ex-serviceman, to come to terms with it. But my brother Vishnu, a bank official, wholeheartedly backed me," Dr Vibha told DH. 

It was her mother that she first opened up about her desire to live as the woman inside her. At first, her mother was shocked but later she stood by her son's wish. 

Speaking to Menafn, her mother said "The eldest was a boy. I wanted the second child to be a daughter. When the doctor took the child and told me it was a boy, I hummed with worry. Now I got my daughter."

Dr Vibha said "The wholehearted support from my family helped me maintain my sexual identity as well as helped me become a doctor. Society is still not accepting the changes and I had to suffer a lot to reach this position."

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