Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sex change woman wins her legal battle to get married

By Raphael Vassallo

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/sex-change-woman-wins-her-legal-battle-to-get-married

Transgender woman was refused permission to marry in Malta, but has won a Constitutional case recognising her gender status as female.

Joanne Cassar, who had been denied the opportunity to marry because (despite having undergone gender reassignment therapy) she was considered 'still a man', has won her legal battle for the right to marry.

In a brief Constitutional Court judgement delivered this morning, Mr Justice Raymond C. Pace cited a previous European Court of Human Rights ruling (Christine Goodwin vs. UK) which established that a ban on transgender marriage, of the kind imposed by the lower courts in previous rulings, violated Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights on the right to marry, to which Malta is signatory.

Transsexual wins right to marry
'This is my right and no one can take it'

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20101201/local/transsexual-wins-right-to-marry

"I fought for the principle. When I opened the case I was engaged and had everything planned to get married. I can say this problem disrupted my life.

"I hope now that I was granted the right to marry they do not take it away in an appeal... I will keep fighting even if I remain single all my life. This is my right and no one can take it.

"I'm not taking anything from anyone. I'm not forcing anyone to marry me. It bothers me that people pass certain comments like, I should not get married because I can't have children. People marry for love," she said with conviction.