Breaking gender stereotypes and ensuring equality to the transgender community, the Kerala government has decided to bear the training costs of 20-year-old Adam Harry to help him become the country's first transgender airline pilot.
The social justice department of the Kerala government has sanctioned Rs 23.34 lakh to help Adam Harry pursue a three-year course at the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology in Thiruvananthapuram and get a commercial pilot licence.
Adam Harry, who possess a private pilot licence, had applied for government funding, after his family disowned him for being a transman.
For becoming an airline pilot one requires a commercial licence. According to aviation regulator, DGCA's (Directorate General of civil Aviation) rule, those applying for the commercial pilot licence must furnish evidence of having not less than two hundred hours of flight.
Talking to CNBCTV18.com, Adam Harry said that he had a frail hope receiving the funding to pursue his childhood dream of becoming an airline pilot following a number of obstacles he had faced from family and friends. "I am grateful to the Kerala government for this help," the 20-year-old said.
A resident of Thrissur district in Kerala, Adam Harry is recognised as the country's first transgender to secure a private pilot licence. He received the licence in 2017 after undergoing training in Johannesburg.
Kerala is known for being transgender-friendly, but cases of discrimination are not unheard of.