Current Version
| Region | Botswana |
| Issue | Right to change legal gender |
| Status | Legal, no restrictions |
| Start Date | Sep 2017 |
| End Date | now |
| Description | In September 2017, the Botswana High Court ruled that the refusal of the Registrar of National Registration to change a transgender man's gender marker was "unreasonable and violated his constitutional rights to dignity, privacy, freedom of expression, equal protection of the law, freedom from discrimination and freedom from inhumane and degrading treatment". LGBT activists celebrated the ruling, describing it as a great victory. At first, the Botswana Government announced it would appeal the ruling, but decided against it in December, supplying the trans man with a new identity document that reflects his gender identity. A similar case, where a transgender woman sought to change her gender marker to female, was heard in December 2017. The High Court ruled that the Government must recognise her gender identity. She dedicated her victory to "every single trans diverse person in Botswana". |
| Sources | https://www.mambaonline.com/2017/12/06/sweet-closure-botswana-agrees-recognise-trans-man/ https://web.archive.org/web/20190621164818/https://allafrica.com/stories/201710090073.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/botswana-gaborone-transgender-identity-lgbt-rights-legabibo-court-law-a8114991.html |
Reports (1)
- Status is not correct "The rulings mentioned are not indicative of a wider formal process of gender recognition: see https://www.southernafricalitigationcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Botswana-Gender-Marker-Report.pdf"
Revision History (6)
Revision by DuffdeNecker
| Old Value | New Value (Current) | |
|---|---|---|
| Start Date | (NONE) | Sep 2017 |
| Description | just recognized a female who transitioned to male. Missing documents for non-binary people. | In September 2017, the Botswana High Court ruled that the refusal of the Registrar of National Registration to change a transgender man's gender marker was "unreasonable and violated his constitutional rights to dignity, privacy, freedom of expression, equal protection of the law, freedom from discrimination and freedom from inhumane and degrading treatment". LGBT activists celebrated the ruling, describing it as a great victory. At first, the Botswana Government announced it would appeal the ruling, but decided against it in December, supplying the trans man with a new identity document that reflects his gender identity. A similar case, where a transgender woman sought to change her gender marker to female, was heard in December 2017. The High Court ruled that the Government must recognise her gender identity. She dedicated her victory to "every single trans diverse person in Botswana". |
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| Sources | https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/gender-identity-map-where-you-can-change-your-gender-on-legal-documents/ | https://www.mambaonline.com/2017/12/06/sweet-closure-botswana-agrees-recognise-trans-man/ https://web.archive.org/web/20190621164818/https://allafrica.com/stories/201710090073.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/botswana-gaborone-transgender-identity-lgbt-rights-legabibo-court-law-a8114991.html |
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Revision by Ausyk
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Sources | No | https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/gender-identity-map-where-you-can-change-your-gender-on-legal-documents/ |
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Revision by Ausyk
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | just recognized a female who transitioned to male. | just recognized a female who transitioned to male. Missing documents for non-binary people. |
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Revision by Ausyk
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | No | just recognized a female who transitioned to male. |
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Revision by Ausyk
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Legal, but requires surgery | Legal, no restrictions |
| Description | No restrictions. | No |
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| Sources | transrespect.org | No |
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Revision by Ausyk
| Old Value (Original) | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Illegal | Legal, but requires surgery |
| Description | No | No restrictions. |
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| Sources | No | transrespect.org |
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