[Foundation-l] [Wikimania-l] Wikimania 2008 will happen in Alexandria, Egypt

[geni]

On 11/10/2007, Mark Williamson <node.ue at gmail.com> wrote:
> The earlier suggestion that a doctor's note will be required is also upsetting.
>

I doubt it. The issue there is that self diagnosis may not be
considered valid I don't know of any case law in this area.

> For someone who is biologically a man to live socially as a woman,
> they should not need a doctor's note to avoid persecution. Life is
> already more difficult for trans people.
>

Egyptian law treats men and women differently thus legally someone's
gender at a given time is of some significance.

> In response to my earlier letter, I noticed people bandying about the
> term GLBT again. Guys, I am not talking about GLBT here really. I am
> talking about T.
>
> GLB people may not be able to be who they are, and for many, that is
> going to be a no-go.
>
> But it is the T people for whose safety I fear.
>
> In the trans community there is what is known as "passing", that is
> someone who is biologically male being able to live as a female
> without anyone noticing them, or vice-versa.
>
> If our trans friends can pass, I do not think they will really be
> unsafe as long as they are careful, in the same way they would want to
> be careful if they were going on a road trip in Alabama.
>
> If, however, they are among those individuals for whom passing is more
> of a challenge, I would very much fear for their safety and think that
> this is a matter of life and death rather than just "not flaunting
> it". If Jimmy Wales wanted to go to the conference dressed in drag
> (not that he wants to, but if he did), and go out on the streets
> afterwards and live "as a woman", he should be able to feel
> comfortable doing that.

Jimmy Wales is not transsexual.

Transvestism is a separate issue and is treated rather differently.


> Now, imagine if you could not feel safe travelling in the gender you
> are. For the men out there, imagine you had to wear fake breasts and
> women's clothing to avoid being beaten and harassed? For the women,
> imagine you had to cut your hair short, duct tape your cleavage, and
> perhaps even stuff your pants to avoid the same? In the majority of
> Islamic countries, trans people are not safe unless they deny their
> true gender identity. This is unacceptable.

The version of Islam prevalent in Egypt views transsexualism as an
illness and will not oppose any treatment proposed by a doctor.

There is a Fatwā to this effect floating around.


> All that aside, what upsets me the most about this issue is the way
> our community has been blown off by just about everyone. Jimmy Wales
> was kind enough to at least show some concern; others have called us a
> "special interest group" asking for unreasonable things or told us not
> to "flaunt it". This has been so highly offensive and so greatly
> frustrating that I am having difficulty believing it is coming from
> Wikimedians, since our organization is so diverse (if you ever looked,
> you would see there is a higher portion of GLBTQ people on Wikimedia
> than in society at large).

Legally transsexuals are in a better position than GLBs. Transvestites
less so not sure about furries.

-- 
geni