A Nalasopara man and his wife, who before marriage was a man and underwent a sex change operation, are struggling to find acceptance. They are being allegedly subjected to ridicule, verbal abuse, bullying and harassment by people in their building and locality.

MUMBAI:

A

man and his wife, who before marriage was a man and underwent a

operation, are struggling to find acceptance. They are being allegedly subjected to ridicule, verbal abuse, bullying and

by people in their building and locality.

After filing a

complaint, Ramshri Mohammed Arya (40) and his wife

(42) have now approached the Nalasopara-based

Foundation complaining about the growing harassment and taunts of “eunuchs”.

The couple moved to their ownership flat in Nalasopara (East) in 2010. While initially the abuses were in whispers, in the last one year the couple claimed they have been subjected to much torture; so much so, that Kaalika attempted suicide earlier this year.Men have reportedly knocked on the door of their third- floor flat in the wee hours and threatened them. Interestingly, the couple married as per Hindu rituals a year ago when they changed their names to Ramshri and Kaalika.Ramshri, who was earlier known as Rizwan Khan and Kaalika, who was then Samson James, became best friends a decade ago. While Rizwan, originally a Kalina resident, was a heterosexual, Samson, who lived in Mazagaon, was a closet gay. They met during a soft skills training session conducted by Samson in Goregaon.In 2008, when Samson decided to undergo a sex reassignment surgery (SRS), Rizwan alias Ramshri helped him with the funds. The surgery was performed in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.Post-surgery, Rizwan proposed marriage to Kaalika. “I wanted to get married to a girl. When I saw that Kaalika is a woman, I decided why not marry my best friend,” said Ramshri, a financial consultant. His family is not aware about his marriage to Kaalika. They had a nikah in Bandra.After marriage, the couple moved to a flat in Mira Road. According to the couple, they were accepted by the people in the locality there. They sold the flat and moved to Nalasopara due to issues of leakages in the house.Kaalika, who is convent educated, has worked as a soft skills trainer and is currently into astrology, obtained various government documents, including a PAN card, Aadhar card and a bank account in which she is referred to as a woman. “I am now a woman. But if people expect me to live like a man it is not possible,” said Kaalika.Unable to bear the harassment, on April 20, the couple made a written complaint to the Vasai deputy superintendent of police (DySP). The police picked up a few men from the locality, warned them and let them off, said Kaalika. They then approached the Human Rights Foundation.According to Surendra Singh, secretary of the Foundation, “The couple is living in constant fear . Local men are at their door on most nights. They pass lewd comments when the couple passes by and call them eunuchs.”Last month, the couple filed an RTI query with the police to know the status of their complaint. They are waiting to hear from the cops. While people from the building and the locality refused to speak when questioned about the couple, local political activists said the local residents had no understanding about gender change and were “bound” to ridicule them.Transgender activist Abhina Aher said such a response from people from the locality is not a surprise. “The couple needs to get in touch with the transgender community in Nalasopara before things get out of control,” she said, adding that this kind of marriage is not yet considered genuine in India.Equal rights activists Harish Iyer said, “A third-party intervention is needed in the matter.”Psychatrist Dr Harish Shetty said while the couple needs counselling, people in the locality need to be sensitized and educated.The couple say the ongoing developments have forced them to delay plans to adopt a child. As a way of finding peace, the couple may move to an area where the transgender community co-exists with others.Additional superintendent of police, Vasai, Yogesh Kumar, said he would look into the case.