Authorities in Kelantan have charged a trans woman with changing her gender in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in Malaysia.
Malaysiakini reported that the Kelantan Islamic religious affairs department arrested the accused earlier this year during an operation targeting an event involving a group of transgender individuals. The accused was charged at the Kota Bharu shariah court last month.
The charge was framed under Section 18 of the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (I) Enactment 2019, which criminalises the changing of one’s gender or that of another person. The offence carries a fine not exceeding RM3,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.
“We have not seen other cases. This is the first case,” Justice for Sisters co-founder Thilaga Sulathireh told Malaysiakini.
“Out of all the states in Malaysia, Kelantan is the only state that has this provision,” she said, referring to the enactment criminalising sex reassignment surgery.
The accused declined to speak to Malaysiakini when contacted.
State executive councillor Asri Mat Daud, who is in charge of Islamic affairs, said his office could not publicly disclose details of the case.
“I do not have complete information, and there are issues that cannot be openly disclosed. In this matter, I need to safeguard all parties who are facing action,” he told Malaysiakini when contacted.
The National Fatwa Council issued a fatwa or religious ruling in 1983 forbidding sex reassignment surgery among Muslims.
The council said that a person born male would remain legally male, and a person born female would remain legally female, even after undergoing gender reassignment surgery.
