Inside India’s first hospital clinic exclusively for trans people

Ruchi Dixit is standing in line among some of the first patients to be treated at a new hospital clinic in India dedicated exclusively to transgender people, and says that for the first time in her life she has not been heckled as she waits to see a doctor.

For her and other members of India’s large trans population, the new clinic at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi represents a significant milestone. Despite India’s long history of recognising the third gender dating back thousands of years, this is the first specialised facility for transgender patients in the country.

Dixit says the difference can be felt from the moment she arrives at the hospital – gone are the long stares from fellow patients, reception staff and even doctors that she is otherwise used to enduring when visiting other clinics.