‘Transgenders are female spirits’

PUTRAJAYA: Transgenders are female spirits trapped in a male body and they cannot be punished for cross-dressing as it is a fundamental part of their nature, the Court of Appeal here heard today.
Lawyer Aston Paiva submitted that transgenders, also known as "Mak Nyah", suffer from a chronic medical condition called gender identity disorder (GID), where their inner psychology is not congruent with their physical body.
He is representing three Muslim bridal make-up artists who are challenging a Negri Sembilan syariah criminal law which prosecutes Muslim transgenders who dress like women.
Aston said that persons with the disorder would cross-dress as they feel the essence of their identity to be that of a woman.
"Medical evidence show GID is not a question of choice. Nobody decides to have GID. It afflicts you," he said, adding that they could not be changed with pharmacological medicine or psychology therapy.
He said to penalise a transgender for an attribute they did not choose nor could change would mean to accept apartheid and racial genocide.
Aston said that Section 66 (of the syariah enactment involved) did not apply to persons who suffer from GID, adding that the section infringed Article 10 (1) (a), Article 5 (1) and Article 8 (2) of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, the right to personal liberty and prohibition of discrimination.
Muhamad Juzaili Mohamad Khamis, 26, Syukor Jani, 28, and Wan Fairol Wan Ismail, 30, are appealing to the court against a High Court dismissal of their judicial review application to challenge the constitutionality of Section 66 of the Syariah Criminal (Negri Sembilan) Enactment 1992. – Bernama