Malaysian judge calls Shariah degrading, scraps cross-dressing ban

November 07, 2014 10:34 am | Updated 10:34 am IST - KUALA LUMPUR

Three Malaysian Muslim transgenders have won a court bid to challenge a religious law that bans them from cross-dressing.

The Court of Appeals said on Friday that the Shariah law in Negeri Sembilan state is discriminatory as it fails to recognise men diagnosed with gender identity issues.

Judge Mohamad Hishammuddin Mohamad Yunus called the law “degrading, oppressive and inhumane.”

A lower court dismissed the case in 2012, saying the three transgenders must adhere to Islamic law because they were Muslim and born male. The three appealed the decision.

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