Transgender Considered for Legal Gender Recognition in Thailand

“Rainbow Flag” by Richard Datchler is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Thailand may consider legally recognizing a third gender category for the first time in the new draft of the country’s constitution, reports CNN.

The Constitution Drafting Committee is considering extending legal protections to a “third gender” for people who do not identify as either male or female, according to the committee’s spokesperson Kamnoon Sittisamarn.

“It is a human right if you were born a male or female and you want to have a sex change or lead a life of a different gender,” said Kamnoon Sittisamarn, as quoted by CNN. “People should have [that] freedom to change sex and they should be equally protected by the Constitution and the law and treated fairly.”

Kath Khangpiboon, a transgender activist with the Thai Transgender Alliance, remarked to CNN that though transgender people are generally accepted in Thailand, discrimination—for which there is no legal recourse – still happens especially at the professional level.

According to CNN, the Constitution Drafting Committee is expected to submit their review by April.

Regarding other LGBTQ rights in Thailand, Sittisamarn said that Thailand does not plans to legalize same sex marriages in its constitution.

Read the full story here.