Legal Dimensions of Gender Reassignment in the Iranian Legal System
Subject Areas : Civil LawSadaf Haghparast 1 , Afshin Ghafghazi 2 , Yasra Tha'alabi 3
1 - Student of Master’s Degree in Private Law, Department of Law, Ahrar Institute of Higher Education, Rasht, Iran.
2 - Assistant Professor of Private Law, Department of Law, Faculty of Humanities, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran.
3 - PhD Candidate in Private Law, Department of Law, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
Keywords: Gender Reassignment, Iran and Islamic Jurisprudence, Gender Reassignment and Its Medical and Social Status,
Abstract :
One of the issues that can be discussed, presented, and examined today is the important matter of gender reassignment, as well as the effects of gender reassignment in the medical and social fields and on personal relationships, which are considered significant topics in both medical science and law. Although in the past these issues attracted less attention, today gender reassignment and its problems and consequences for society and spousal relationships have increased, and various challenges have emerged in this regard. In fact, gender reassignment refers to a complete change in the identity and gender of a man or a woman. In Islamic jurisprudence and Iranian law, the issue of gender difference in marriage exists, since marriage between two men or two women is not legitimate; in jurisprudence, it is considered a major sin that entails prescribed punishment. The ruling in this regard is sodomy for men and musahaqah for women. In Iranian law, there are no specific and codified regulations concerning gender reassignment and its effects. Moreover, from a social perspective, this issue is not widely understood among the public. Nevertheless, by relying on Article 167 of the Constitution and Article 3 of the Civil Procedure Code, legal rulings on this matter can be derived, or by referring to jurisprudential sources and the fatwas of jurists, accurate information can be obtained. From the perspective of the common law system, individuals who have undergone gender reassignment benefit from broader legal protections.
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