Vietnam passes law protecting rights of transgender people
Vietnam has passed a law which protects the rights of transgender people.
The landmark law was hailed by LGBT rights activists, and the hope is that next gender reassignment surgery will be available.
The surgery is illegal in the communist state, and trans people who want to under go it usually have to travel to Thailand to receive it.
However Tuesday’s legislation will allow those who have undergone gender reassignment surgery to register under the gender appropriate to their gender identity.
With a while to wait, the law will come into effect in the first part of 2017.
Politicians in Vietnam voted 282 to 84 for the new law.
The state-controlled website VNExpress, wrote that “individuals who undergo transgender change will have the right to register [their appropriate gender]”.
It went on to say that they would then receive “personal rights in accordance with their new sex”.
A report from the Vietnamese Parliament said the law had hoped to “meet the demands of a part of society… in accordance with international practice, without countering the nation’s traditions.”
The change has been welcomed by LGBT rights activists in the country.
It is seen as the next step towards legalising gender reassignment surgery.
