Transgender Egyptians face abuse, discrimination for asserting their identity
Farida Ramadan is struggling to earn a living and lead a normal life, which speaks volumes of the challenges facing transgender Egyptians.
CAIRO — It took Farida Ramadan years to convince those around her that the sex assigned to her on her birth certificate did not match her gender identity.
Ramadan, now in her early 50s, was assigned the male sex at birth. In actuality, she lives, feels and thinks like a woman.
“I felt totally uncomfortable with the sex [assigned to me] at birth,” Ramadan told Al-Monitor. Ramadan has been on a long, painful journey to prove that she is really a woman.
This included lengthy medical and psychological examinations, wellness checks and analyses. It also included approval from Al-Azhar, the most important Islamic institution in this predominantly Muslim country.
