5/6/2016

7 Countries Giving Transgender People Fundamental Rights the U.S. Still Won't

7 Countries Giving Transgender People Fundamental

Rights the U.S. Still Won't

On March 20 a White House petition was launched asking the U.S. government to consider one thing:
Recognize non-binary genders and give citizens who don't t in the male or female categories a new,
legal status.
"Legal documents in the United States only recognize 'male' and 'female' as genders," the petition says,
"leaving anyone who does not identify as one of these two genders with no option."
So far, more than 89,000 people have signed and supported the petition online. It needs 11,000 more
signatures before theObama administration will be required to respond to the matter.
But even if the petition does reach the 100,000-mark, it's unlikely the government will be changing its
gender policies anytime soon. This doesn't mean the discussion should stop, however. Recently,
inititatives like this petition and Facebook's 50 new gender options for its users have raised questions
about the treatment of people who feel they don't t in the male-female gender binary. Do we ignore
them? Or do we try to nd a way to achieve a legal and social solution? This would mean a signicant,
if not radical change for Americans, including thenearly 700,000 transgender citizensliving in the U.S.
Althoughseveral states include laws that clearly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity,the
U.S. government still does not allow for a third, non-specic gender option on legal documents.
Instead it has been other countries, particularly in Asia, who have taken the lead on this issue over the
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past six years.A week ago, an Australian court ruled that the government should recognizea third,
neutral and non-specic gender besides the traditional "male" and "female" categories. The decision
was a win forNorrie, an Australian who doesn't identitify as male or female, and who had originally
applied for a non-specic gender status.With this landmark ruling, Australia also became the world's
sixth country to recognize a third gender option for its citizens. The rst to do so on its census forms
was Nepal, following a 2007 decision. In total, seven countries now offer an alternative option on their
legal documents, even though several of them are far moreculturally conservative than the U.S.
It begs the question: Why hasn't the U.S. followed suit?

1. Nepal

Following a Supreme Court landmark decision ruling against gender identity discriminationin 2007,
Nepal is believed to have become the world's rst country toinclude a third gender option on its census
forms, which it initiated in 2011. The country has led the way in South Asia, also introducing a third
gender category on its passports last year.

2. India

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India has long recognized a community ofve to six millions Indians as "hijras," citizens whodon't
identify themselves as either male or female. For years all such Indians were grouped together broadly
under the term"eunuchs," despite the fact that only 10% of them identied as such.
However, this changed in 2009, when the nation'selection authorities decided to formally allow an
independent designation for intersex or transgender voters. The move meant that Indians could choose
an "other" categoryindicating their gender in voter forms.

3. Pakistan

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In 2009 the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered the government to conduct a census of hijras living in
the country. Earlier that year, local police had allegedly attacked, robbed and raped eight hijra wedding
dancersnear Islamabad. That traumatic event led Muhammed Aslam Khaki, a lawyer specializing in
Islamic law, to le a private case in the country's Supreme Court, asking to recognize hijras as a third
gender. At the end of 2009 the chief justice of Pakistan ordered the National Database and Registration
Authority to issue national identity cards with a "third gender" category for non-binary citizens.

4. Bangladesh

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At least10,000 hijras currently live in Bangladesh, according to national statistics. They have had the
right to vote since 2009, but it wasn't until the end of last year that their gender identity was given a
legal status. In November 2013 the government announced the recognition of "hijra" as a third gender
category in all national documents and passports. The prime minister herself, Sheikh Hasina,
announced the decision. Hasina'sCabinet secretary, Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan,
recognized the difcult situation faced by hijras in Bangladesh as well, noting the community was
"being denied their rights in various sectors, including education, health and housing because of being
a marginal group."

5. Germany

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Last November Germany became the rst European country to ofcially recognize a "third gender"
category, this time on birth certicates for intersex infants. If their children show both male and female
characteristics, parents can now mark their birth certicates with an "X," for undetermined gender.
The law gives the possibility for intersex children (as many as1 in 2,000 babies) to decide their gender
identity once they reach an adult age, and not to be labeled male or female at birth without their will.
Until now, parents had only one week to register their intersex baby as a boy or a girl, which often led to
forced surgery on the child's genitalia.

6. New Zealand

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New Zealand gave its transgender citizens a new gender category on their passports in 2012, with the
introduction of "X" for "undetermined or unspecied." Transgender New Zealanders can now change
their gender category to "X" on their passports with a simple declaration.
A Family Court declaration is still required if citizens want to change their gender identity from male to
female, and vice versa, on citizenship documents.

7. Australia

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On April 2 Australia ruled that people are not unambiguously male or female, allowing a third gender
under the law. The rulingwas a landmark decision and a victory for main plaintiff Norrie, who had
fought for the third gender designation for years. Identied as male at birth, Norrie asked to be
registered as having a "non-specic" gender in 2010. The New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths
and Marriages rst supported Norrie's application, then revoked it. Norrie appealed the registry's
decision and was given reason, three years later, last week, essentially afrming Norrie's and the
greater Australian transgender community's legal status. (Since 2011 this option has been available on
passports; however, the category was known as "indeterminate.")
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Valentine Pasquesoone is a multimedia journalist based in Paris. She graduated from Columbia
Journalism School in 2013 and recently interned for the International New York Times. She has written
for the Bronx Ink, Al Jazeera, the World Policy Journal and Le Monde.fr, among others.

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