Manipur: Beoncy Laishram is Northeast’s first transgender doctor and COVID-19 warrior

Beoncy Laishram is the first transgender doctor from the Northeast. The 27-year old doctor in Imphal is not just Manipur’s first transgender woman doctor, but entire Northeast’s and is a symbol of hope for the state’s highly prominent yet marginalized Nupi Maanbi (transwoman) community.

She is the former student of the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Imphal. Beoncy is also a coronavirus warrior attending patients infected with coronavirus in the isolation wards at Imphal's Shija Hospital and Research Centre.

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In an interview, Beoncy Laishram said, "I was born a boy, but by the time I was in Class IX or X, I did not identify as male. I got through MBBS at RIMS in 2011 and decided to come out to my family in 2013. My father was so upset he tried to kill himself.”

She was earlier known as Boboi Laishram and eventually went to change her name to Beoncy in 2013 after participating in ‘Miss Trans Queen Northeast.’

She now identifies herself as a post-operative transwoman after undergoing sex reassignment surgery in Puducherry. Presently, she is also working towards helping the disadvantaged Nupi Maanbis get access to healthcare. “Human beings are all equal. We didn’t look at Beoncy’s gender while hiring her,” said noted surgeon Sorokhaibam Jugindra, medical superintendent of Shija Hospitals and Research Institute. Beoncy is not content to rest on her laurels and is preparing for her postgraduation entrance exam.

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