Ecuador: Trans woman files lawsuit against government for refusing to acknowledge her gender identity
Diane Rodriguez, the first transgender woman in Ecuador to legally change her name, is currently suing the Ecuadorian government for refusing to fully acknowledge her gender identity on legal documents.
Ms Rodriguez, the founder of the LGBT rights group the X Silhouette Association, plans to take her case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
According to the Bay Area Reporter, she has been lobbying Ecuador’s government for five years to allow her to identify as a woman on legal documents.
However, Ecuador does not allow transgender people to change their legal gender unless they have undergone a full surgical transition.
“I have to continue the process, not only for me but for the entire GLBT community, and in this case specifically for the trans community,” Ms Rodriguez said.
She added she hopes the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ ruling will enable pre-operative trans persons the right to change their genders in their identity documents.
