Transgender people in Kuwait November 4, 2009
Posted by jewaira in Men, News, Relationships, Sexuality, Women.trackback
A few nights ago I switched the tv onto a controversial talk show I had heard about in passing hosted by Nada Fadhel Dbouk. The show is called For Women Only and aired very late on Scope TV channel. Some women at a recent gathering had mentioned her and how vulgar and risque she was discussing controversial topics. I’d not heard of her before and I was interested to see the show since the topic concerned homosexuality that night and callers were invited to express their opinions and share their experiences.
What followed was not a discussion on homosexuality per se. The calls were all local (Kuwait) and several transgender males to females called in discussing the problems they face in their daily lives and the fear they have of being arrested (some had already spent time in prison simply for looking like a woman when presenting a male ID). At least three of the transgender callers that I recall on the program, sounded very much like women and indeed referred to themselves as females because that is what they felt like. Even Nada addressed them as females although technically, these callers were males as per their official identification.
I was interested to see that Nada tried to remain totally unbiased as she listened to the transgender callers and asked them questions about their lives.
The sad part of the plight of transgender is that even when they are officially diagnosed by doctors that identify their “medical” problem, the papers they are supplied with don’t make a difference. One caller said that she showed the policeman the paper and he scoffed saying that paper didnt prove anything to him and as far as he was concerned, the person in front of him was breaking the law by dressing like a person of the opposite sex.
Callers spoke about how difficult it was to be accepted within their families and especially their parents. They suffered humiliation when trying to live in the way they felt was natural.
It is not easy for male to female transgenders as in many cases, they may be physically and officially still males and this causes a lot of problems when dealing with female only company and issues surrounding them.
One of the callers was a prominent Bahraini civil rights lawyer Fawzia Jenahi who has taken it upon herself to represent those people who feel they should be of the other sex and who have officially been diagnosed as transgender by doctors. It has become her mission to defend people who may feel unfairly represented due to their sexuality.
As is usual on these types of programs, many people commented through sms on the lower ticker on the screen and one got the idea that transgenders were not really an acceptable concept to many viewers and there was a lot of negative or biased descriptions of the callers and the kinds of people they represented.
[The National Assembly approved an addition (Article 199 bis) to Article 198 of the Criminal Code. The amendment states that “any person committing an indecent act in a public place, or imitating the appearance of a member of the opposite sex, shall be subject to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding one thousand dinars [US$3,500].”
Its a harsh reality we live in, even with all the strange things that do take place in Kuwait transgenders are anything but normal.. these feelings can barely be expressed in the US and Europe let a lone trying to live your life as a transgender in Kuwait..
My opinion is I prefer not to interact with them as a personal choice since I am not and probably will never be comfortable with it.. but that doesn’t give anyone the right to mistreat them, especially government entities.. I have seen doctors who have scoffed at them in hospitals but that doesn’t make them an less human but to some people they are less human..
Yes Marzouq
Recognizing that transgenders do exist in Kuwait and that they deserve to be recognized for what they are with no humiliation is a first step.
The recurrent theme in all the callers on this show was the desire to be able to live their lives as normally as they could in their country. They all mentioned not being able to seek medical care or to go out freely anymore for fear of being arrested (I could not believe that a doctor would report anyone needing medical assistance but I suppose it happens)
Its really sad, but thats not the half of it, recently I have been in and out of hospitals for the last couple of weeks and I had to get very angry and very loud to get the person the need they required.. its not the doctors themselves as much as the bureaucracy…
Wishing your loved ones good health always, Marzouq
Jewaira, in that regard, I found the recent articles about Chaz Bono interesting, here and here.
thank you PhantomMan
Jewaira, thanks for discussing this issue. I’m of the firm belief of “to each his own”. Don’t judge lest ye be judged. – and all that.
I’ve been following the events in the media over the years. It seems that quite a few people in Kuwait believe that gender issues can be solved by therapy and incarceration!
Homosexuality and cross-dressing has been around here for a looooooong time. I think that transgender people in Kuwait have only recently gone out in public as they are taking a cue from the rest of the (“democratic” ?) world.
I find it ironic that many of those who can afford gender reassignment surgery are from the upper echelons of Kuwaiti society.
In the US, they used to treat depression by lobotomy (cutting out part of the brain). Kuwait is taking a (less evasive) similar archaic approach towards transgender and homosexual people in Kuwait; although there are many, the official way in which they are responded to (in reference to the way they are treated as humans with rights) is still years behind the rest of the world. Maybe what they need in Kuwait is a high-level activist/champion.
One of my Kuwaiti friends has a sister who has gone through gender re-assignment in the States. She (now he) can’t come back to Kuwait because her passport doesn’t match his new body. It’s sad, but I think that for most, moving to another country is the only way that Kuwaiti transgenders will be able to find civililty.
A high level activist/champion of the cause would be desirable.
I think presenting transgender people as needing medical assistance and who are suffering from a physical condition beyond their control is the only way one can convince hardliners that it is not simply a moral issue. Even so, some hardliners may believe that harsh methods will make these people “normal”.
As one caller mentioned, it is not an issue of being brought up around too many females as is the fear with male to female transgenders. He was raised in a family full of brothers but he always felt more of a female than a male.
I am not an expert on this topic but I was interested to understand the personal viewpoints of some transgenders in Kuwait and to hear this problem discussed without fear of repercussions or listening to a pedantic diatribe on how evil these people are.
It is indeed interesting that it is being discussed.
There is an interesting article on CNN Online today. I like this line from the story:
“They resist change as if it were a contagious disease that will lead to their demise if they ever catch it.”
The Title of the story is Women, Bloggers, Gays Lead Change in the Arab World. Check it out:
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/14/women-bloggers-gays-lead-change-in-the-arab-world/
Great article DG . Thanks.
تراي هافنغ أ سون أز ترانز سكشوال أور أ داوتر..أند ذن ريإفالويت يور تيك أون ذس إشيو.
I can’t speak from experience (regarding having a transgender son or daughter) but I know that if my child had a problem of any sort, I would do all that was within my capabilities to help him or her. That is my duty.
I am not sure how I feel about this issue, but there are a few things that I do know for sure:
1. No matter how you decide to live your life, at the end of the day it is your life, and if your personal choices do not harm anyone, they should be respected. As a professional entity, the government should not mistreat you how you choose to live your life.
That being said, it is very unlikely that people working within the Kuwaiti government will undertake such a philosophy when dealing with Transgenders.
A sensible outlook, eleventh.st
Here we go again.
(such a good feeling,
be in my brain)
To bad… born in the wrong body and lock-up in the wrong room !
Someone start to change the law. Justice for everyone.
Meanwhile,
perfect choice fonzie
Its such a shame to know that there are so many people unable to express their identity. I wonder if we’ll ever witness in this lifetime both the government and society accepting our individual liberties. If we are not respected in our own country, in our own home, then how are we ever going to feel safe? Leaving is never a solution.
Just to give you a sense of how transgender issues are in the states, my transgender co-worker (after 5 years of transitioning from male to female) still doesn’t have all of her legal records modified :/ Also, there are no laws protecting transgender (and LGB) individuals from getting fired or treated unequally at work. But with the recently proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act, things will change to the better. Fingers crossed.
I wish that you would explore Kuwait’s transgender issues a bit more, I’m very interested.
thanks for the insight niino
I welcome any additional links or info concerning transgender issues in Kuwait and will add any as I come across them. This is for sharing of information and awareness purposes