Thursday, September 08, 2016

We Are Making Headway

Around the world we are slowly make advances in our rights sometimes it is where you would least expect it.
Bolivia's transgender citizens celebrate new ID cards
Reuters
By Karishma Singh
September 6, 2016

Feted by activists carrying a rainbow flag, transgender citizens in La Paz are celebrating their newfound right to register for identity cards with updated details under Bolivia's new gender law.
[…]
The law, which means transgender citizens can register for ID cards using the names and details of their assumed gender, comes into effect under the leftist government of President Evo Morales.

Bolivia's move to grant new ID cards to its transgender citizens follows similar legislation in Britain, Colombia and Australia.
And then in the Middle East…
Sex-change surgery is now legal in the UAE
StepFeed
By Leyal Khalife
September 7, 2016

The United Arab Emirates has just passed a federal decree that introduces substantial changes to healthcare in the Gulf state, and challenges prevailing cultural norms.

Federal Decree No. 4 permits doctors to refrain from resuscitation and to conduct sexual reassignment surgery. These amendments are one of several under Decree No. 4 that reduce doctors’ criminal liability.

Under article 7 of the law governing healthcare, doctors can now perform sex change operations so long as there are “psychological” and “physiological” signs of gender and sex disparity. The law also requires that the patient undergoing sex change surgery receive mental health care to “psychologically prepare” patients for the transition.

The UAE would be the second state in the Arabian Gulf to legalize sex reassignment surgery, after Iran. Certain schools of Islamic jurisprudence recognize transgenderism, and the laws do not necessarily fly in the face of religious teachings. Islam has a long and nuanced history with the subject, which, many argue, is not as straightforward as it might appear at the outset.
It is a small step but it is important step when you consider the consequences if you are gay and hopefully this will not be forced on anyone like it is rumored in Iran when gays are given a choice,   death or surgery.

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