Transgender Tram temporarily keeps gov’t recognition

April 15, 2013 | 10:24

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The Vietnamese Ministry of Justice has required authorities in Binh Phuoc southern province to temporarily halt withdrawing its decision to legally redefine a local transgender woman as real woman, a VnExpress report said.

Pham Le Quynh Tram

The requirement has been imposed while the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice are waiting for Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to voice his opinions on the matter, the report added.

In November, 2009 authorities in Chon Thanh district, Binh Phuoc province legally recognized transgender woman Pham Le Quynh Tram, who was born Pham Van Hiep in 1974 as a boy, as a female.

With this decision, Tram became the first transgender woman to be legally recognized by the Vietnamese government.

However, on January 21, the Binh Phuoc province’s People’s Committee concluded that recognition is illegal and proposed the sex-redefining decision be revoked.

A local lawyer pointed to the fact that Tram underwent her transgender operation at a clinic in Thailand [which was not authorized by the Vietnamese government] so the decision to legally recognize her as a woman was against the law.

After being informed of the shocking news, Tram revealed that all of her personal papers including passport, ID card, land and house ownership certificates, and driving licenses have been updated with her new name and her new sex, so revoking the 2009 recognition would mess up her life.

Tuoi Tre News

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