During a “hearing” at the virtual Women’s Tribunal Malaysia today, the organisers brought Paddy (not her real name), a 28-year-old trans woman from Negeri Sembilan, to share her plight at being harassed and discriminated against.

She was one of the three trans women who challenged the constitutionality of the state shariah laws in the Negeri Sembilan High Court in 2011.

This came after they were arrested by the state religious authority for cross-dressing. Their challenge was rejected by the High Court in 2012 which ruled that the three trans women, being Muslims, were bound by state shariah law and that constitutional provisions protecting fundamental liberties were therefore irrelevant.

They then appealed and the Court of Appeal delivered a landmark judgment in 2014 against Section 66 (which barred men from cross-dressing as females in public). The law was ruled unconstitutional.

“The 2014 ruling by the Court of Appeal was made a reference case for the current cases that involve the LGBTQ community.

“Although the ruling made me feel good, it somehow worsened my relationship with my family members,” Paddy told the tribunal, which was co-organised by Joint Action on Gender (JAG) and Engender Consultancy,

“My neighbours, who learned about the case, asked my siblings about me, but they (the siblings) never defended me, which made me feel very disappointed with them.”

Paddy said the family’s refusal to accept her for her gender identity also affected her mental health. She became depressed and started having suicidal thoughts.

She called on Malaysian families to be accepting of their trans children so that they could  maintain their mental wellbeing.

“I feel jealous when I see families that accept their trans children,” said Paddy.

She also called for an end to discriminatory laws against trans women, saying their existence was not a crime.

“We’re just trying to live our lives,” said Paddy.