The Ukrainian government has publicly notified transgender women that they are technically men and should stay and fight rather than flee to neighboring nations in the face of Russia’s invasion.
After Vladimir Putin’s Russia started a series of strikes on Ukraine for their drive to join NATO, compromising their national security, a new law known as the conscription laws prohibits men from leaving the country.
This new development is aimed at a transgender woman, Zi Faámelu, who wants to flee the conflict in Ukraine but is unable to do so because her passport states she is a male by birth.
According to the Los Angeles Times, this contradiction has trapped Faámelu in her Kyiev apartment as missiles fly around her.
According to her, she intends to flee to Poland illegally, like other trans women have done after an unfavorable law forced them to flee.
“Already we were f!ghting for our lives,” she explained. “And now we’re actually in w@r.” Faámelu is eager to depart right now. She is aware that life for LGBTQ people like her may swiftly deteriorate under Russian control.
According to Vice News, trans people in Ukraine are “totally stuck” and “scared for their lives” in the country.
Two additional Ukrainian trans women who spoke with VICE stated they can’t leave or even travel around Ukraine because all of their identification cards say “male” and include their “previous masculine names.”
Some trans people have even been advised to “lose their ID” by human rights groups, in order to get out of Ukraine.
Trans campaigners estimate this issue is leading to “hundreds” of trans people in Ukraine being left in “serious d@nger” and feeling “completely alone”.
[ads2]
