Malaysian court annuls same sex marriage
A Shariah court in Malaysia has annulled a marriage between a two women, one of which is a transvestite.
The court, in southern Malacca, said Mohamad Sofian Mohamad and Zaiton Aziz would have to separate because Mohamad Sofian had female genitals, despite her male attire and close cropped hair.
Originally named Mazinah Mohamad, she was allowed to change her name due to an administrative oversight and the couple married in a Malacca mosque in 2002.
But the bride’s family soon filed a lawsuit against the couple on the basis that the groom was actually a woman.
Mohamad Mokhtar Karim, a lawyer for the state, told AP: “From the examination results, he’s entirely a woman.
“He dresses like a man, but if you look at him, personally, I think he looks like a woman.
“He has got breasts and everything,” he continued.
Malaysia is governed by two different kinds of court – Shariah courts to govern Muslim civil matters and the state’s secular courts which apply to the 40 percent of the population which is not Muslim.
Same sex marriages are illegal under both systems.
A pre-op Chinese transsexual had her marriage to her male partner made invalid by the government in 2005.
