Maltese trans man wins right to be recognised as male

A transgender man in Malta has won the right to have his birth certificate changed to ‘male’.

The 26-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was born female but said he had always felt and acted like a man.

He has had gender reassignment surgery abroad. Malta insists that trans men and women must have ‘irreversible’ surgery in order to change gender.

Mr Justice Joseph Azzopardi granted his request to change his birth certificate and his name and ordered the public registry to make the changes.

The case follows a transgender woman’s struggle to be allowed to marry.

Joanne Cassar has won and lost her battle at various levels of the Maltese court system since 2004.

The Director of Public Registry has denied her requests and claims that gender identity laws were created to protect trans people’s privacy, rather than giving them state recognition