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This 16-Year-Old In Delhi Is No Longer Trapped In A Boy's Body, Thanks To Her Mother's Support

This 16-Year-Old In Delhi Is No Longer Trapped In A Boy's Body, Thanks To Her Mother's Support

It's not easy to deal with adolescence. Add to that, transitioning from a boy to a girl. But at 16, Naina Singh, a student at Vasant Valley School is dealing with all this, thanks to her supportive parents.

Born as Krishna Singh, in July, she decided to do away with the boy's uniform for good.

Not feeling quite right in her skin, Krishna switched to the gender neutral physical training uniform and started her hormone replacement therapy when she was 16.

Now, she goes by the name of Naina Singh and wears a salwaar kameez to school.

She plans to go through with her sex-change operation post her Class 12 exams.

“Actually my real name is Krishna. I was born a man, but I’m transitioning” she introduces herself in this YouTube video.

“I’ve come out twice, once as gay and once as a transgender. And every time I do it, it’s like ripping a band-aid off,” she says.

Naina puts out several videos on her YouTube channel, showing the struggles that she faces.

Which bathroom to use:

How she does her make up:

Naina's parents

Recently, Shivy, born biologically female, named Shivani Bhat, brought up in California for most of his life, found himself taking his parents to court, when they dragged him from California to Agra, locked him up at home, abused him "verbally and physically", took away his passport, green card and all identification papers, his phone and his computer, all because they found out he was transgender.

But it was different with Naina's mother. When Mishi Singh, Naina's mother, found out that Naina is transgender, she took her to the counsellors when she was all of 14. She also thinks her daughter has "pretty legs".

"I thought he was gay, but my worst nightmare was he'd be a girl. I didn't want him to suffer. I'd show him remote-control cars in toy shops but he'd want stuffed toys. He kept asking for wigs, even made ones with ribbons," Mishi told Times Of India.

The struggles

But things are not very easy for Naina.

Naina's mother has had to field questions from friends who want to know why Krishna is wearing a girl's uniform. People stare, and once, she was once "thrown out" of a salon by a beautician.

In 2014, Naina suffered from depression and attempted to commit suicide. "Forty-one percent transgender people commit suicide," she told ToI.

But, with the support of teachers, her friends and her mother, Naina came out of the depression. She will soon go through her sexual transformation.

Naina plans to start an NGO one day to help transgender children receive the “care and resources” they need.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.