Visa problem for Indian transgender nothing new, says activist

For some, getting a visa for travel to other countries can be an ordeal. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: A transgender activist has urged governments around the world, including Putrajaya, to recognise the genders with which people identify in their passports so they can enjoy greater freedom of movement.

This follows reports that a transgender activist in India had been told by the Malaysian consulate in Chennai to change her gender to “male” if she wished to travel to Malaysia.

The Times of India reported that IT analyst Shane Anthony Mills had been selected to speak as the country’s representative at Dell’s Employee Resource Group summit in Penang on Jan 28.

However, there was no third gender option in Malaysia’s online visa portal. When Mills went to the consulate, she was told to change her gender in her passport to “male” and reapply for a visa.

Nisha Ayub said this was not the first time such cases had occurred as transgenders in other countries faced similar problems as well.

“There are countries which recognise a third gender, but when they go to countries which don’t, they face complications. It doesn’t just happen in Malaysia.

“When I went to Hong Kong for a recent conference, a Pakistani transgender who was supposed to attend could not obtain a visa as the country did not recognise a third gender,” she told FMT.

Nisha added that her own passport still identifies her as a male, which causes problems when she travels to other countries.

“I have to explain to the immigration officers that I am still registered as a male because my country does not recognise a third gender,” she said. “Most of the time, there are no issues.”

Because gender markers are not the same as categories in travel documents, she said, she would advocate for governments to recognise the gender with which people identify rather than have a third or fourth gender column in passports.

“We need all governments around the world to recognise the gender we identify with. A transwoman should be recognised as a female in the passport and vice-versa for transmen.”

Meanwhile, former Immigration Department enforcement chief Ishak Mohamed said the non-recognition of a third gender was due to security reasons.

“We don’t want people to conceal their identity,” he told FMT.

FMT’s efforts to seek comments from the foreign ministry were unsuccessful. - FMT