Chelsea Manning ‘forced to cut hair short’ by military
Despite a court ruling she has a right to transition, whistleblower Chelsea Manning is still forced to have a short haircut.
Private Manning, who announced her transition to female in 2013, is currently imprisoned in Fort Leavenworth military prison after leaking details of classified documents via WikiLeaks.
The whistleblower is currently suing for her right to transition behind bars, as the US Military has continued to refer to the data analyst by her former gender and former name and until recently blocked gender treatment.
After a court ruled that she had a right to transition earlier this year, the military seemingly gave the go-ahead to treatment.
However, Private Manning – who recently shared a photo of her appearance behind bars – says she continues to be forced to keep her hair short.”
She said: “Bad news for me: Military continues to make me cut my hair to male standards [angry face emoticon] I’m gonna fight in court”.
Chase Strangio of the American Civil Rights Union said: “Even though the military agrees that allowing Chelsea to grow her hair is a critical part of her treatment plan, they continue to deny her basic human and constitutional rights.”
“Her fight continues because the government is needlessly prohibiting her from growing her hair, which will continue to cause her significant anxiety.”
