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The first transgendered person in Kosovo: coming out and facing taboos and misinformation

Aug 8, 2017

Lendi Mustafa, a 21 year old from Prishtina, is one of the few individuals brave enough to publicly speak about their gender identity. He publicly came out when he was 18  in the documentary “Mallkimi LGBTI” (LGBTQ Curse), produced by Zona Express. Before Mustafa came out publicly about the way he feels, he said that he first talked to his friends and family, and eventually he appeared in the media.

Apart from the support he got from his close circle of friends, Mustafa says that he endured psychological pressure from some friends who verbally attacked him because, because according to him, they “weren’t informed of the transgender community”.

Nevertheless he says that it hasn’t been difficult to live as a trans person in Kosovo, since he considers himself a social person and is thankful for the way he was raised. Despite the fact that he doesn’t know any other transgender people, most of the people with whom he socializes are members of the LGBTQ community.

Finding self acceptance as a trans person has been important,because it has made coming out publicly easier.

“My friend’s reactions were more positive than I thought, with the exception of some people who have psychologically attacked me and have denied my gender identity, claiming it was nonexistent, but I was prepared for that too. My family has always supported me, not because they are pro LGBTQ community or the transgender community, but they expressed their interest to learn more about these two communities and accept me as I am,” Mustafa said for KosovaLive.

In school, he has faced some pressure about the way he dressed from some of the teachers who, according to him, also didn’t know much about transgender people… However, it was rare for him to encounter extreme discrimination like refusing to give a service or to get accepted in a certain place.

Mustafa hasn’t undergone sex-reassignment surgery  yet, but this month he is starting some therapy sessions that will last at least six months, where he will be recommended for hormones.

Luljeta Demolli, executive director of the “Kosovar Gender Studies Centre” organization, which deals with the integration of gender perspective in programs and policies of all aspects of Kosovo society, says that transgender people should feel safe to declare their gender, the way they feel, with other laws as well, aside from the constitution.

The workers union hasn’t been open to the LGBTQ community either; therefore members of this community continue to get discriminated against at work. To improve this. she believes that the ombudsperson’s importance should be added so they can create anti-discrimination policies for them.

Demolli says,“People need to have continuous information and education in order to raise awareness that transgender people should live in this society without being discriminated. The media should play a role in informing the people and breaking the taboos around this community as well. Schools should teach about transgender people and train the teachers about transgender people’s rights”.

According to sociologist Linda Gusia, transgender people in our society are marginalized and there aren’t many discussions about them. However, this community is discriminated in the religious aspect as well as the social one.

Gusia says, “In general institutional support for the LGBTQ community has met some standards but it hasn’t been meaningful and there were no real attempts to support them. This community has nowhere to address the discrimination they encounter. These people are discriminated in their work places, especially transgender people. They are the most discriminated from all the LGBTQ community.”

According to a mini survey study by KosovaLive in Prishtina with mostly young citizens, people who know what “transgender” means are rare. People who are ready to accept them in the society are rare as well. Some of them even consider the people who have declared themselves transgender to be “sick.”

But what does the term transgender mean ?

While gay people  are attracted to people of the same gender, transgender people don’t fall into the conventional notions of female or male because they don’t identify themselves with their biological sex. For example, a transgender man was born female but identifies himself as male; a transgender woman was born male but identifies herself as female.

In Kosovo there are no existing statistics about the number of transgender people. One of the reasons may be the fear these individuals have to openly declare their gender in the existing social context.

Besarta Breznica

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