Legal gender recognition in Nepal and comparative context

The Supreme Court of Nepal was a groundbreaker when it ruled in Pant v. Nepal (2007) that people have the right to change their gender on identity documents based on “self-feelings” and “self-determination” as opposed to medical or other criteria. At the time, no other national apex court or nationa...

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Main Authors: Lau, Holning, Malagodi, Mara
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: University of Pennsylvania 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/175093/
https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/175093/19/WRAP-legal-gender-recognition-Nepal-comparative-context-2024.pdf
https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/175093/12/WRAP-legal-gender-recognition-Nepal-comparative-context-2023.pdf
https://doi.org/10.58112/jil.45-2.1
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spelling ftuwarwick:oai:wrap.warwick.ac.uk:175093 2024-04-28T07:56:12+00:00 Legal gender recognition in Nepal and comparative context Lau, Holning Malagodi, Mara 2024 application/pdf https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/175093/ https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/175093/19/WRAP-legal-gender-recognition-Nepal-comparative-context-2024.pdf https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/175093/12/WRAP-legal-gender-recognition-Nepal-comparative-context-2023.pdf https://doi.org/10.58112/jil.45-2.1 unknown University of Pennsylvania https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/175093/19/WRAP-legal-gender-recognition-Nepal-comparative-context-2024.pdf https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/175093/12/WRAP-legal-gender-recognition-Nepal-comparative-context-2023.pdf Lau, Holning and Malagodi, Mara (2024) Legal gender recognition in Nepal and comparative context. University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, 45 (2). pp. 269-298. doi:10.58112/jil.45-2.1 ISSN 1086-7872. K Law (General) KN Asia and Eurasia Africa Pacific Area and Antarctica KT Asia and Pacific Journal Article NonPeerReviewed 2024 ftuwarwick https://doi.org/10.58112/jil.45-2.1 2024-04-09T23:41:49Z The Supreme Court of Nepal was a groundbreaker when it ruled in Pant v. Nepal (2007) that people have the right to change their gender on identity documents based on “self-feelings” and “self-determination” as opposed to medical or other criteria. At the time, no other national apex court or national government had so clearly prioritized self-determination as the guiding principle for resolving matters concerning gender identity. The decision in Pant, however, focused on people of “third gender,” in other words people who identify as neither male nor female. Now, the Supreme Court of Nepal is considering the case of a transgender woman, Ms. Kapali, who is seeking to identify as female on her identity documents, not as “third gender” or “other.” Ms. Kapali is challenging government authorities that have rejected her requests. This Article analyzes Ms. Kapali’s claim from the vantage point of comparative law. In the years since Pant was decided, a rapidly growing number of countries and supranational legal institutions have taken steps to protect individuals’ self-determination of legal gender, including that of individuals who wish to change their legal gender from male to female or vice versa. We chart this trajectory of change around the world and explain that the trajectory is underpinned by compelling human rights principles. This analysis suggests that comparative law—along with Nepal’s constitutional law and international obligations—strongly supports Ms. Kapali’s claim to gender self-determination on identity documents. Numerous countries have surpassed Nepal in protecting gender identity rights, but Ms. Kapali’s case presents an opportunity for the Supreme Court to position Nepal once again among the world’s leading jurisdictions on gender identity rights. This Article helps to shape understandings about Ms. Kapali’s case, and it provides context for analyzing the Supreme Court’s forthcoming ruling. Although Ms. Kapali’s case in Nepal is the impetus for this Article’s comparative analysis, our discussion ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica The University of Warwick: WRAP - Warwick Research Archive Portal
institution Open Polar
collection The University of Warwick: WRAP - Warwick Research Archive Portal
op_collection_id ftuwarwick
language unknown
topic K Law (General)
KN Asia and Eurasia
Africa
Pacific Area
and Antarctica
KT Asia and Pacific
spellingShingle K Law (General)
KN Asia and Eurasia
Africa
Pacific Area
and Antarctica
KT Asia and Pacific
Lau, Holning
Malagodi, Mara
Legal gender recognition in Nepal and comparative context
topic_facet K Law (General)
KN Asia and Eurasia
Africa
Pacific Area
and Antarctica
KT Asia and Pacific
description The Supreme Court of Nepal was a groundbreaker when it ruled in Pant v. Nepal (2007) that people have the right to change their gender on identity documents based on “self-feelings” and “self-determination” as opposed to medical or other criteria. At the time, no other national apex court or national government had so clearly prioritized self-determination as the guiding principle for resolving matters concerning gender identity. The decision in Pant, however, focused on people of “third gender,” in other words people who identify as neither male nor female. Now, the Supreme Court of Nepal is considering the case of a transgender woman, Ms. Kapali, who is seeking to identify as female on her identity documents, not as “third gender” or “other.” Ms. Kapali is challenging government authorities that have rejected her requests. This Article analyzes Ms. Kapali’s claim from the vantage point of comparative law. In the years since Pant was decided, a rapidly growing number of countries and supranational legal institutions have taken steps to protect individuals’ self-determination of legal gender, including that of individuals who wish to change their legal gender from male to female or vice versa. We chart this trajectory of change around the world and explain that the trajectory is underpinned by compelling human rights principles. This analysis suggests that comparative law—along with Nepal’s constitutional law and international obligations—strongly supports Ms. Kapali’s claim to gender self-determination on identity documents. Numerous countries have surpassed Nepal in protecting gender identity rights, but Ms. Kapali’s case presents an opportunity for the Supreme Court to position Nepal once again among the world’s leading jurisdictions on gender identity rights. This Article helps to shape understandings about Ms. Kapali’s case, and it provides context for analyzing the Supreme Court’s forthcoming ruling. Although Ms. Kapali’s case in Nepal is the impetus for this Article’s comparative analysis, our discussion ...
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Lau, Holning
Malagodi, Mara
author_facet Lau, Holning
Malagodi, Mara
author_sort Lau, Holning
title Legal gender recognition in Nepal and comparative context
title_short Legal gender recognition in Nepal and comparative context
title_full Legal gender recognition in Nepal and comparative context
title_fullStr Legal gender recognition in Nepal and comparative context
title_full_unstemmed Legal gender recognition in Nepal and comparative context
title_sort legal gender recognition in nepal and comparative context
publisher University of Pennsylvania
publishDate 2024
url https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/175093/
https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/175093/19/WRAP-legal-gender-recognition-Nepal-comparative-context-2024.pdf
https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/175093/12/WRAP-legal-gender-recognition-Nepal-comparative-context-2023.pdf
https://doi.org/10.58112/jil.45-2.1
genre Antarc*
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Antarctica
op_relation https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/175093/19/WRAP-legal-gender-recognition-Nepal-comparative-context-2024.pdf
https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/175093/12/WRAP-legal-gender-recognition-Nepal-comparative-context-2023.pdf
Lau, Holning and Malagodi, Mara (2024) Legal gender recognition in Nepal and comparative context. University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, 45 (2). pp. 269-298. doi:10.58112/jil.45-2.1 ISSN 1086-7872.
op_doi https://doi.org/10.58112/jil.45-2.1
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