As an above knee amputee, whose artificial limb is an extension of her body, removing this limb is a time-consuming, painful & private process. Removing the limb requires me to undress and it compromises my modesty severely to do so in front of strangers. Without the limb I cannot walk but will be hopping on one leg or will have to be seated. The artificial limb is a high tech, expensive and delicate piece of machinery which requires special care and expertise.
The following account needs to be considered keeping the above context in mind:
As I entered the security check cubicle, I told the first lady security officer that I have an artificial leg and the metal detector would be set off by it. I handed her my documentation while I said this (disability certificate, press ID card, letter from prosthesis manufacturer). She chose not to look at any of this and immediately said I’d have to remove the leg and run it through the scanner. I reasoned with her that this was not required and she could do a physical check (without my removing the artificial limb) and run an ETD scanner test on me externally. She insisted I’d have to take it off and called another woman officer, who had no opinion to offer except that I had to remove the leg. Since I refused to undress to do so, she took me out of the security cabin. Other passengers were looking and listening to our conversation. A third officer, a male, was now called who looked at all my documentation but had nothing to say except that he would speak to his superior officer about it. The superior officer turned up after some time and handed back all my documentation and boarding pass when I said I wouldn’t let them remove my leg and run it through the scanner. At this point, we settled for a compromise. The physical check and ETD test that I had asked the first lady to do was conducted in a separate area (three sides closed, fourth side open, no curtain, door or lock on this open side, open from top as well, hence not a private area).