Lebanese judge defends ruling allowing transgender woman to change legal sex

A Lebanese court ruling allowing a transgender woman to change the sex recorded on her official documents from male to female has sparked religious and legal objections, amid concerns it could set a precedent for similar cases in Lebanon.

Judge Wassim Zahr al-Din, the civil judge in Bint Jbeil responsible for personal status cases, last month ordered the name and sex of R. D. to be amended in Lebanon's civil status records.

The ruling was based on medical and psychological reports, as well as Article 21 of Decree No. 8837 of 1932, which governs civil status records.

Zahr al-Din found that keeping R. D. registered as male no longer reflected her circumstances and exposed her to embarrassment and discrimination.

The decision has stirred debate in religious and legal circles, with critics arguing that the case goes beyond correcting an error in an official record because it formally recognises a change of sex from male to female.

The controversy has raised broader questions over whether the ruling could pave the way for similar applications and wider legal recognition of gender transition in Lebanon.

Zahr al-Din, however, rejected suggestions that his ruling had opened the door for anyone to change their registered sex.

He told Beirut-based news site Al-Modon that the case was based on specific circumstances, supported by medical and psychological reports and subject to strict conditions.

Lebanon has no specific law governing legal gender changes, meaning such requests are decided by courts on a case-by-case basis, typically using civil registry provisions and medical and psychological evidence.

A Beirut appeals court previously allowed a transgender man to change his name and registered sex in a landmark ruling issued in 2015 and implemented the following year.

According to the court file, R. D. had been registered as male at birth but had lived with a female identity since childhood.

The file said she had felt from an early age that she belonged to the female sex and had displayed feminine characteristics and behaviour, while her family and social circle also treated her as female.

As she grew older, the gap between her everyday life and her official documents widened, leaving her living socially as a woman while remaining legally registered as male.

The resulting embarrassment and difficulties were among the reasons she sought to change her legal status.

Before taking the case to a Lebanese court, R. D. travelled to Thailand, where she underwent sex reassignment surgery following a medical assessment.

Despite the surgery, she remained registered as male in Lebanon until the case reached Zahr al-Din's court.

The judge said his ruling relied on medical and psychological reports and stressed that it was subject to specific medical and legal conditions.

"They must provide a medical and psychological report and prove that it is impossible for them to return to being male, that they are not married and do not have children, and that they are 100% unable to return to being a man," he told Al-Modon.

In the case before him, Zahr al-Din said the evidence went back to childhood, referring to what he described as "a biological abnormality from an early age".

He also cited physical characteristics that had been present since childhood, alongside the medical reports and surgery carried out in Thailand, as factors underpinning his decision.

The case had already attracted public attention months earlier, when R. D. appeared in a widely circulated video from a New Year's Eve celebration at a restaurant.

The footage showed her dancing in a belly-dancing costume before completely undressing in front of those present, prompting widespread discussion and backlash on social media.

Zahr al-Din acknowledged that his ruling had caused a major stir and drawn criticism from members of the public and religious figures, but defended his decision as both legally and conscientiously justified.

"Given all these facts, I took this decision. The decision was, of course, bold and caused a shock, and people and religious figures attacked me, but I acted legally and according to my conscience," he told Al-Modon.

He said the backlash was not sufficient reason to reject the application when, in his view, the case contained the necessary medical, psychological and legal grounds for approving it.

"This did not allow me not to respond," he said. "I relied on the law. This is a medical condition that we respond to within certain restrictions."

This article was translated from a report published by our partners at Al-Modon.