The high court in Malaysia has ruled that sex change, although allowed is not enough to have your ID card changed. The article says "...while the country allows sex reassignment surgery, trans men and women cannot be legally recognised and the high court ruled that her surgery had merely changed her genitals, rather than her sex." It is interesting to see how sex, genitals and eventually gender are part of defining someone's identity and how this differs from culture to culture. It even affects someone's legal rights directly. I think it puts into perspective how sex and gender are or are perceived to be different in eastern and western Europe and how different rhetoric and strategies are probably needed for equality. To make this more apparent, I also share a link from ILGA-Europe's website about the Irish governments change of policy regarding transgender individuals and their rights after succesful litigation. This, I believe is a more western view. Food for thought and comments.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/07/19/malaysian-trans-woman-loses-court-case-over-gender-change/

http://www.ilga-europe.org/home/guide/country_by_country/ireland/transgender_people_to_be_recognised_in_law