Kerala’s first trans man bodybuilder Praveen Nath dies by suicide 

Praveen won gold in the State bodybuilding competition of 2021 in the trans persons’ category and was awarded the Mr Kerala title

Hyderabad: Kerala’s first trans man bodybuilder Praveen Nath allegedly died by suicide on May 4. He was reportedly undergoing treatment at the Thrissur Medical College Hospital, after he tried to take his life, when he passed away.

A native of Kerala’s Palakkad, the 26-year-old was an active voice for the queer community in the State and was also involved in the Thrissur-based LGBTQIA+ organisation Sahayathrika. He had won gold in the State bodybuilding competition of 2021 in the trans persons’ category and was awarded the Mr Kerala title.

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Praveen married trans woman Rishana Aishu, a model and the winner of the Miss Malabar pageant, in February this year. He reportedly put up a Facebook post announcing their separation and deleted it within an hour.

Post the incident, he reportedly wrote on May 1, “We live together. I put a post saying so and it was deleted within an hour. (I had to write that in a particular situation, it’s very personal) I don’t know what there is to celebrate. Do not spread the news that we have broken up, do let us live a good life Have Malayalam news pages degraded so much? (sic)”

“The comments below the news stories were too much. It affected our mental health. I was on the verge of suicide due to many other reasons. On top of it, this news was unbearable. Everyone is happy to highlight problems within the trans community,” he reportedly said to the news daily ‘Manorama’.

As the news came out, scores of people took to their social media handles to offer their condolences.

Kerala has become a graveyard for the LGBTQIA+ community. Several queer members have lost their lives due to homophobia, including Praveen Nath, a young trans man and Mister Kerala, who committed suicide today after experiencing cyber bullying.

Yesterday, an organization called… pic.twitter.com/RKmbapxn51

— Mansoor Kochukadavu (@MansoorBhimArmy) May 4, 2023

Can’t believe Praveen Nath is no more! He was a very vocal transgender activist! So full of life and quick with replies when people asked questions. He took his own life because of relentless cyber bullying! pic.twitter.com/wF9xZox14G

— Dr. Beena k (@atticusfinch71) May 4, 2023