I am a woman

TimesOfMalta.com – Claudia Calleja

Joanne Cassar holds her birth certificate in her perfectly manicured hand and, as she points out her female gender annotation on the document, she glances into the mirror of her salon and says: “How can you call me a transsexual or a man? I always felt I was a woman. I am a woman”.

Her kohl-rimmed eyes exude confidence but sorrow sometimes seeps through as she talks about a recent court decision barring her from marrying even though she was legally recognised as a female on her documents following gender reassignment surgery.