Thai army to introduce ?third category? for transsexuals
BANGKOK: Thailand?s military will stop branding trans-sexual conscripts as mentally disturbed, and will list them in a new ?third category? as neither male nor female, a senior officer said on Wednesday. Thai men are required to report for the draft once they turn 21. Under the current system, trans-sexuals are rejected as suffering from ?a mental disorder.? Gay rights groups complained that the label penalises trans-sexuals for the rest of their lives, because men are required to prove if they have completed their national service when they apply for jobs or bank loans. When trans-sexuals submit their military rejection forms declaring they have a mental disorder, they are automatically disqualified from many jobs and mortgages. Lieutenant General Somkiat Suthivaiyakij, head of the defence ministry?s Reserve Command Department, said the military would immediately stop using the mental disorder label. ?The military is trying to find a new word for a third category that is neither male nor female, that would not discriminate against trans-sexuals,? he said. Until the army decides on the new category, trans-sexual conscripts will be turned away with a form saying they have an illness that cannot be cured within 30 days. afp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...0-3-2008_pg4_4
BANGKOK: Thailand?s military will stop branding trans-sexual conscripts as mentally disturbed, and will list them in a new ?third category? as neither male nor female, a senior officer said on Wednesday. Thai men are required to report for the draft once they turn 21. Under the current system, trans-sexuals are rejected as suffering from ?a mental disorder.? Gay rights groups complained that the label penalises trans-sexuals for the rest of their lives, because men are required to prove if they have completed their national service when they apply for jobs or bank loans. When trans-sexuals submit their military rejection forms declaring they have a mental disorder, they are automatically disqualified from many jobs and mortgages. Lieutenant General Somkiat Suthivaiyakij, head of the defence ministry?s Reserve Command Department, said the military would immediately stop using the mental disorder label. ?The military is trying to find a new word for a third category that is neither male nor female, that would not discriminate against trans-sexuals,? he said. Until the army decides on the new category, trans-sexual conscripts will be turned away with a form saying they have an illness that cannot be cured within 30 days. afp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...0-3-2008_pg4_4
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