March for Visibility of Transgender People in Skopje, North Macedonia, March 29, 2024. Photo by Vančo Džambaski from the photo album ‘Marching Boldly’ on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED).
Transgender people in North Macedonia are refusing to be silenced, and they took their concerns to the streets in a March for Visibility of Trans People in Skopje on March 29, organised by the civil society organization TransFormA.
The march took place ahead of International Transgender Day of Visibility (often referred to as TDOV or Trans Day of Visibility), an annual event occurring on March 31 dedicated to celebrating transgender people and their contributions to society, and raising awareness of discrimination they face worldwide.
As reported by Sloboden Pečat, a public march was held for the fifth year in a row, with the goal of reducing the violence and discrimination faced daily by the members of this marginalized group.
Under the motto “We march bravely,” dozens of trans people and their allies walked through the streets of Skopje from the seat of the government to the national parliament, holding signs reading, “It's not a choice to be trans, it's a choice to be transphobic,” “We love you just the way you are,” “I don't need permission to be me,” “Visibility is key to social change,” “Visibility is resistance,” “I am safest when I'm with my trans friends”…
‘I don't need permission to be me’ and ‘I'm as confused about my gender identity as you are about yours!’ on banners at the March for Visibility of Transgender People in Skopje, North Macedonia, March 29, 2024. Photo by Vančo Džambaski from the photo album ‘Marching Boldly’ on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED).
At the beginning of the march, activist Leo Popović stated that they were advocating for a future in which transgender people can live openly, safely, and with dignity. They aim to honor those who have lost their lives through violence and discrimination, which have pushed the transgender community to the margins of society, as reported by Radio MOF.
Though some progress has been made, the protesters noted worrisome trends. Popović emphasized the danger from “conservative right-wing movements which spread disinformation and attempt to spread senseless hate.”
Овие движења се обидуваат да ги поткопаат правата и достоинството на трансродовите лица преку правење лажна паника, предизвикување дискриминација и сеење омраза. Мора да ја отфрлиме оваа штетна реторика и да ги поддржиме вистинските семејни вредности: емпатија, разбирање и безусловна љубов.
These movements attempt to undermine the rights and dignity of transgender people by causing false panic, inciting discrimination and spread of hatred. We must denounce this harmful rhetoric and support the true family values: empathy, understanding and unconditional love.
Transgender people identify with a gender that is different from the one typically assigned to them at birth. Besides facing stigma, in North Macedonia, they face systemic discrimination via administrative hurdles because their personal documents are not in line with the gender they identify with.
Marchers appealed to the parliament to adopt the Draft Law on Civil Registry, which would enable transgender people to change the sex designation in their personal documents through a clear procedure.
As a prerequisite for joining the European Union (EU), these legislative changes have been in parliamentary procedure since 2021 to align the country's legal system with EU anti-discrimination measures. However, they were stalled by opposition from right-wing political parties in collusion with religious institutions. In 2023, they organizeddisinformation-fueled protests against this law and the law on gender equality.
Religious communities against transgender people
The Commission on Prevention and Protection Against Discrimination (KSZD), an independent state body responsible for protecting human rights, issued a statement of support for transgender people ahead of International Transgender Day of Visibility.
The Commission stated that the transgender community faces systemic discrimination and dehumanization, abuse of their human rights, and violence.
Системската дискриминација кон трансродовите лица најнапред е видлива преку отсуството на законско решение за правно признавање на родот – постапка за промена на личното име, матичниот број и ознаката за пол во личните документи. Оваа постапка, согласно потребите на заедницата и меѓународните стандарди, мора да биде транспарентна, достапна и заснована на самоопределување, односно не смеат да се наметнуваат медицински критериуми за да се овозможи промена на документитe.
The systemic discrimination against transgender people is visible in the absence of a legal solution for recognition of gender in the procedure for the change of personal name, personal ID number and the designation of sex in personal documents. According to the needs of the community and international standards, this procedure for change of data in personal documents must be transparent, accessible and based on self-determination, without imposing of medical criteria.
The commission has appealed to the government and parliament to pass the proposed changes that would allow for the addition of a third category for gender-nonbinary individuals in personal documents. This would enable those who do not identify as strictly male or female to receive official recognition.
Moreover, this is a legal obligation of the state, resulting from the European Court of Human Rights judgment on legal gender recognition in the case of X v. “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” from 2019, in which the court found a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights because of the absence of quick, transparent and accessible procedures in national legislation for gender recognition.
‘Protect trans futures’ and ‘Visibility is resistance’ banners at the March for Visibility of Transgender People in Skopje, North Macedonia, March 29, 2024. Photo by Vančo Džambaski from the album ‘Marching Boldly’ on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED).
According to the Anti-Discrimination Commission, the lack of a legal framework for transgender individuals results in their exclusion from the labor market, discrimination from access to goods and services, inability to provide housing and health services under the same conditions as other members of society, which they confirmed in three recent cases. This social exclusion increases the risks of unemployment, poverty, hate crimes and domestic violence, affecting their health and wellbeing.
The commission also confirmed three cases of discrimination on the basis of gender in the education system, with “lack of acceptance, bullying and violence as a key problem with long-term consequences on mental health, self-confidence and ability to fulfil their own potential. This is also a reason for prematurely leaving the educational process and an obstacle to equal participation in education.”
“We love you just the way you are” art by Rumena N at the March for Visibility of Transgender People in Skopje, North Macedonia, March 29, 2024. [Photo]( by Vančo Džambaski from the album ‘Marching Boldly’ on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED).
The commission also warned about a trend of using hate speech, abusive speech and incitement of discrimination based on gender identity, noting 37 cases of people in the media and on social media who “abuse freedom of speech and freedom of assembly to share untruths, hate speech and to dehumanize transgender people.”
„Воедно, загрижува трендот на мобилизирање на верските заедници против остварување на основните човекови права на транс луѓето. Потсетуваме дека ваквиот говор спаѓа во категоријата на незаштитен говор од слободата на изразување и истиот треба да биде предмет на сразмерна санкција.“
“At the same time, we raise concerns about the trend of mobilizing religious communities against the realization of the basic human rights of trans people. We remind that this kind of speech is in the category of unprotected speech in regard to freedom of expression, and that it needs to be subject of appropriate legal sanctions.”
‘Not a danger to society’
Similar concerns were expressed at a public debate that took place at the Europe House in Skopje on the morning of March 29. Participants stressed the need to recognize disinformation and manipulation and to promote equality and inclusion.
Disinformation plays a powerful negative role in many parts of the world, undermining human rights & personal dignity. Valuable workshop today with media, activists & experts tackling anti-gender & anti-LGBTQI narratives & promoting equality & inclusion. pic.twitter.com/5lkCecXQ8H
— EU Ambassador David Geer (@AmbassadorEU) March 29, 2024
Panelists in the debate on debunking anti-gender disinformation included Irena Cvetkovikj, from Coalition Margins, Mila Carovska from the health organization HERA, and Meri Jordanovska from Metamorphosis Foundation.
All three emphasized the role of media in spreading disinformation by quoting non-expert opinions without providing context, Prizma reported.
At the panel, journalist Meri Jordanovska stressed that “media literacy is at a very low level and additional training on gender and gender issues is needed for the journalists” to help them exclude bias and uphold Article 13 of the Code of Journalists on distinguishing facts from opinions.
Mila Carovska, who formerly served as the government minister of social policy and minister of education, pointed to the harmful impact of disinformation based on false narratives about sexualizing children, which blocked the reforms aimed at introducing comprehensive sexuality education. Statistics show that as a result of lack of education, Macedonian teenagers begin sexual activity at age 15, two to three years earlier than their peers in countries where such education is systemic, such as the Netherlands.
Irena Cvetkovikj noted the increase of anti-gender movements, spearheaded by a network of about 30 such organizations named “Coalition for the protection of children,” who “claim to be protectors of children, while in reality, they attack transgender people.”
Cvetkovikj noted that such groups spread moral panic that also harms the much larger populations of women and LGBT people. She added that these movements have an administrative impact, resulting in a number of municipalities removing the term “gender equality” from various legal and policy documents.
„Во принцип се работи за стотина трансродови луѓе во државата кои се претставени како голема опасност, а се всушност прилично ранлива група.“
“In principle, there's only about a hundred of transgender people living in this country, and they are presented as great danger, while in essence they are quite a vulnerable group.”
“I'm as confused about my gender identity as you are about yours!” and “I don't need permission to be me” banners at the March for Visibility of Transgender People in Skopje, North Macedonia, March 29, 2024. Photo by Vančo Džambaski from the album ‘Marching Boldly’ on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED).
Global Voices has previously covered the link between anti-gender equality structures utilizing homophobia, transphobia and the stigmatization of LGBTQ+ people and Russian propaganda, exploiting existing endemic intolerance in the Balkans region to undermine democratic progress and integration into the European Union.
Written by Global Voices Central & Eastern Europe
This post originally appeared on Global Voices.
