DefinePK

Abstract

This study examines health rights, social acceptance, and the construction of transgender identities through the lens of contemporary South Asian literature. Using Frey Lawrence R's textual analysis, it looks at transgender peoples' narratives in their relationships with cisgender characters in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Narcopolis, and This House of Clay and Water, which represent. These works highlight the underrepresented transgender struggles in their narratives. The growing cancellations of transgender rights make the discourse around these lives important to explore in contemporary fiction, especially surrounding medical intervention and social exclusion. This study engages in this discourse by examining the representation of forced medical intervention and surgical procedures, that often take place without consent. This is linked to the scaffolding of health rights and health policy. The work highlights the need for urgent policy reform to build national solidarity, cooperation, and inclusivity for transgender people across South Asia. South Asian fiction practices as a savvy way to promote social awareness and social change. The novels demonstrated that gender discrimination and positivity coexist, and advocate for the possibility of a more just and humane society. Finally, this research reinforces the power of literature to cultivate empathy, work against prejudice, and ignite advocacy.