If one of us ain’t free ...

[Natasha]

If one of us ain't free ...

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/9/14/lifefocus/1977271&sec=lifefocus
JULIAN C.H. LEE
9/13/2008

IN August last year, malaysiakini.com reported that a transsexual woman in Malacca had been brutally assaulted, allegedly by state religious officers, who also detained her because she was a man dressed as a woman, and that is an offence.

Transsexual individuals generally regard themselves as being born into the wrong body – they feel like a woman in a man's body, or a man in a woman's body – and would usually take a variety of steps (some bigger than others; for instance, sex change operations) to try to be in the body that they feel is right for them.

However, on top of their own personal turmoil, they face discrimination and harassment from members of the public and official bodies.