Hungarian Parliament restricts transgender rights

Photo: Zoltan Mathe / dpa

The news hit like a bombshell: the Hungarian parliament has extremely restricted transgender rights. As of now, they no longer have the possibility to change the gender that was registered after birth.

An enormous step backwards! After all, this means that they no longer have the chance to have their actual gender adjusted on paper as well. The information in the passport remains.

The legal innovation in detail

The new law will bring massive changes for transgenders in Hungary. They will be forced to keep the wrong gender in their passports for the rest of their lives. Even after a gender reassignment has been performed, for example, the fixed information can no longer be changed. From a legal point of view, only the sex recorded after birth is valid.

Also, people born with two sex characteristics will henceforth no longer have the option to decide what exactly should be written in their passport.

Accordingly, it is self-explanatory why an outcry went through the social media after the decision last Tuesday. Many transgender people feel discriminated against and speak of a bitter step backwards.

What was previously still possible upon request has now become an absolute taboo.

What impact will the new law have on society?

Due to the enormous impact and the fact that the change in the law has already made extremely high waves, it can be assumed that the opinion within Hungarian society on transgender and intersex people will also change.

The likelihood is that people will become even more suspicious of them. By taking away the right to choose one's gender, it seems that past progress in this area has been set back to "0".

Interestingly, however, this is not the first time that the world has looked to Hungary with regard to such decisions. In recent years, too, it has been reported time and again that the rights of homosexuals have been Scene would be severely restricted here. Unforgotten: the rumours at the time that the country was withdrawing its participation in the ESC because the event was "too gay" be.

Gay and Transgender Rights in Hungary

With the recent law, it is not difficult to understand how difficult it must be to stand as a homosexual or transgender person in Hungary. The restrictions on gay/transgender rights are complemented by extremely conservative views in many other areas.

Against the background of this news, it is certainly difficult to venture a positive outlook - in this respect - for the future.

It is to be hoped, among other things, that the homosexual scene, which is currently particularly prevalent in the country's capital active The government's efforts to ensure that the gender identity of the passport is not changed by the government will continue to stand up to the conservative forces and, if necessary, ensure that the legislation is changed again with regard to the adjustment of the gender in the passport.

Other rays of hope: the fact that both EuroGames and CSDs are now allowed to take place in Hungary. Laws such as the anti-discrimination law and the recognition of same-sex partnerships (unregistered) by the state also give hope. It remains to be seen how long the legal innovation will last and whether a mix of media attention and protests can quickly persuade those responsible to relent.

Also interesting: The #freeesc2020: winners, great moments and a big surprise