Negri lost transgender case over failure to argue medical issue, says court


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(TMI) – The Court of Appeal which decided that Muslim transgender males have the right to cross-dress said the Negri Sembilan religious authorities had failed to prove Islam’s position on how those who suffered from gender identity disorder (GID) should dress.

Judge Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus, who led the appellate court’s three-member bench, said the three Muslims in the case were not “normal males” as they suffered from the disorder, which had been confirmed through psychiatric and psychological tests.

The religious authorities did not rebut the medical evidence, the court said in its written judgment of its decision on November 7 that Section 66 of the Negri Sembilan Shariah Criminal Enactment violated provisions in the Federal Constitution.

The state religious authorities had filed an affidavit by the Negri Sembilan mufti, who said Section 66, which prohibited a male from dressing as a woman, was a precept of Islam.

“(The appellants’ lawyer) makes a pertinent point that the mufti’s opinion remarkably fails to address the issue that is crucial for the purpose of the present constitutional challenge: what is the position in Islam as to the appropriate dress code for male Muslims who are sufferers of GID, like the appellants?” Hishamudin said in his written judgment obtained by The Malaysian Insider.

Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/negri-lost-transgender-case-over-failure-to-argue-identity-disorder-or-prov

 



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