India needs more policies to promote welfare of LGBTQs, says Adam Harry, aspiring transgender pilot

The Indian government needs to work more on its policies to promote the inclusiveness of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community in the country, Harry said.

"The government will have to form new policies, not just on paper, but implement them practically. They have to train their workers and employees to be trans-friendly or queer-friendly," Harry said.

Edited excerpts: 

Q. Kerala's social justice department has sanctioned an amount of Rs 25.43 lakh to bear your commercial license training cost in South Africa. Will this amount be enough to complete the training? 

A. No, the cost of commercial license training in South Africa has increased after the Russia-Ukraine war, mostly due to a hike in fuel costs. The fee structure has increased slightly and there is a variation in the fee structure as well. But I have received a scholarship from Delta Airlines of $5,000, which is part of the United States National Gay Pilots Association’s sponsorship. Delta will send the money directly to the academy.

So with that amount, I think I can manage this fee hike and for the living expenses and other expenses, I will try to figure out what I can do. For now, I can manage for the initial few months.

Q. How will you manage living expenses in South Africa, and how long will the training take? 

A. For accommodation, food and transportation, previously they were charging 90,000 South African rand (1 rand is equal to Rs.4.54 at the current rate) for 10 months. Now with a https://www.msn.com/en-in/feedhike in price, I think I will need around Rs 5 lakhs for 10 months.

In my experience, South Africa does not have many opportunities for a part-time job, but I will try and find a job online which I will be able to do in order to make ends meet while I am there.  My total CPL training will take around one year.

Q. In the past, we have spoken about your struggles in Kerala in finding a job and making ends meet in the last two years. Have you managed to find a stable source of income yet? 

A. For the past five months, I was attending a fellowship program by an organization called Sangath. Sangath is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization working in Kerala, and other Indian states, for 25 years. The fellowship program was for disabled and transgender people’s development. I was doing a research fellowship on the topic. Healthcare Challenges Faced by Transmen in Kerala. I was receiving Rs 10,000 per month for the research.

Q. You were earlier also working as a delivery partner for Zomato. Are you still doing that? 

A. No. I have been running around trying to get my scholarship processed and also have been working with Sangath so I didn't have time to work as a delivery partner.

Q. Have you reached out to airlines or have airlines reached out to you to help you out with a job or funding? 

A. During the time I was facing some difficulties with DGCA (Directorate of Civil Aviation), one of the mainstream airlines contacted me to help sort the issues. But apart from that, they did not offer any jobs. They said they will try once I complete my commercial pilot training.

A captain from IndiGo reached out to me and he was helping me to sort out all these problems. He was the one who stood with me throughout the hard times I was fighting against discrimination in DGCA.

I'm going to reach out to Delta to request any job training. They have a cadet training programme. I might request them to accept me as a cadet in  their programme. So, if I'm getting an offer from them, that will be a great opportunity.

Q. Will you be returning to India to operate with a domestic airline once you have completed your training? 

A. Once I complete my CPL, I’ll give it a try. Once I get the CPL, I hope that things will get a little easier. Then I'll try and try to convert my license to India, but for safety, for good mental health, I think it's better to work in some other countries. Every country has transphobia, but things are much worse on the ground in India when compared to other countries.

Q. A study conducted in the US showed that more than 53 percent of LGBTQ workers hide their identity in the workplace. We can only speculate what that figure may be in India Do you have a message for people who are hiding their identity that may encourage them or help them deal with their identity issues?  

A. Yes, there is a stigma within society everywhere. And people are afraid to come out because they have to face a lot of issues when they come out as a transperson or queer person. So they may be afraid of that. So that will definitely affect their jobs. So that's why they are still closeted.

And it is the same in India, there are many people, transpeople who are closeted and afraid to come out, because of these issues, because of the stigma within the society…they are afraid to face those issues that will come out everywhere when they are going to come out in their workspace. Then our cultural differences are my main issue. So, I know many people who are queer in the aviation industry and still closeted because of these issues.

I don't think the onus to improve the lives of LGBTQ people fall on individuals. I think governments and systems are needed to bring about a change in the mentality of our society to be more inclusive.

The government needs to form new policies, not just on paper, but they have to implement them practically. They have to train their workers and employees to be trans-friendly or queer-friendly. Then the system will change, then the people like me can come out in their workplace confidently. That's what I believe.

I would like to share a message with queer people around the world. I would like to tell them that they are valid, they have the right to be loved. They are not people who cannot be loved, they have their own values like any other people, and they have their own right to live with dignity in society. So, be stronger and whenever you feel comfortable, then only come out as a transperson. Even if you're closeted, you're valid as a transperson or queer person. I'd like to say ‘be happy and strong and fight for your rights.’

And then like, there are many people out there who have already fought for their rights, and we lost many people in this fight. I would like to express my gratitude to those people who fought for the rights of queer people.

Q. What are some steps that the government needs to look at in order to facilitate the inclusion of the rights of LGBTQ people in India? 

A. First of all, the government needs to work to create a safe environment for people, safety is the main issue. Whenever we express our identity, we express our gender, we are unsafe in our country. So, we have to make sure that our law and the system are supporting us.

Then we need shelter and food for the people who are coming out from their houses and who are disowned from their houses. Initially, we don’t get shelter when we get out of the house. So, the government has a policy and plan and also a welfare scheme to support transgender people who come out of the house, but not all the states are implementing it.

Even in Kerala, they built 5 shelter homes in all districts across Kerala, but now it's not working. So, first, they have to practically work on all these welfare schemes and implement them, then we’ll have a development. They have to sensitize people in all economic and employment sectors to accept transgender people.

Q. Internationally, Mark Anderson, chief executive of Connect Airways; Alan Joyce, chief executive of Qantas; Andrew Swaffield, chief executive of Virgin Group Loyalty Company; and Sadiq Gillani, former senior vice-president of operational research and effectiveness at Emirates have been LGBTQ icons in the aviation space. Have these people been a source of inspiration for you? Have you reached out to them and are you looking to be the face of LGBTQ inclusion in Indian aviation? 

A. I will definitely keep fighting for the rights of transpeople and LGBTQ people in the country going forward. I have been inspired by many of the people you mentioned earlier, and while I have not spoken to any of them I hope that one day I get an opportunity to speak to them.