HYDERABAD: Abandoned by her parents soon after birth, four-year-old intersex child, Nitya (name changed), has finally found a home — miles away in the United States of America. According to officials of the state’s women and child welfare department (WCWD), this is the first time that a LGBTQ+ child has been adopted from

.

Nitya’s American parents are based in Washington DC. “The child moved in with her adoptive parents a few months ago. The mother is an analyst and father works as a middle school teacher there. Her first report from her new parents is due this August,” said an official, adding that Nitya can decide on the gender and undergo a surgery accordingly, once she turns 10.

“For now, she likes to introduce herself as a girl,” said K Sunitha, in-charge of the adoption process at WCWD. Sharing the child’s journey so far, she said that Nitya’s biological parents, from

district, left her at Sishu Vihar (Hyderabad) immediately after they found out that she was born with male and female genitals. “This was soon after the child was born in 2015. Since then, she stayed at the shelter with all the other girls,” Sunitha added.

That it was a couple from the US who finally chose her, it didn’t come as a surprise for officials. “It is usually foreigners who come forward to adopt children who are either differently-abled or born with special needs. Indian parents, on the contrary, only want to adopt healthy children,” said KRS Laxmi Devi, joint director of WCWD.

As per the procedure, the department will monitor the child’s status for three years through local adoption agencies and reports sent by her adoptive parents, every six to seven months. “Once we are certain that the child is comfortable with the new environment, we step back,” Sunitha said.

Medical experts assert that children, depending on the type of intersex, can be operated upon either at 10 or 11 years of age. “One only has to ensure that he/she does not go through any trauma. In some cases though, surgery is advised only after 15 or 18 years of age, taking in consideration how their hormones and organs grow or react,” said Dr Vindhya Gemeraju, gynaecologist at Apollo Cradle, Kondapur.