Ukraine Bans Transgender Women from Exiting the Country

A new law by the Ukrainian government has prevented transgender women from leaving the country amid the Russian invasion.

Scores of transgender women have reportedly fled the country to neighboring countries as Russia intensifies its attack on Ukraine but conscription laws prevent men from leaving as they have been asked to take arms and fight, including transwomen who are technically seen as men.

One of the trans women, Zi Faámelu is not happy about the development and she is even planning to escape to Poland illegally as other trans women have done according to a report by Los Angeles Times.

“Already we were fighting for our lives,” she said. “And now we’re actually in w@r.” Faámelu is anxious to leave now. She knows that under a Russian occupation, life could deteriorate quickly for LGBTQ people like her. Vice News reports that trans people in Ukraine are “totally stuck” and “scared for their lives” in the country.

Two other Ukrainian trans women who spoke to VICE said they can’t leave Ukraine or even safely travel through it because all of their identification documents say “male” and mention their “old masculine names”.

Meanwhile, other trans people have even been advised to “lose their ID” by human rights groups, in order to get out of Ukraine. Trans campaigners estimate this issue is leading to “hundreds” of trans people in Ukraine being left in “serious d@nger” and feeling “completely alone”.