The reference to sex will soon be removed from Belgian identity cards, Radio Belge Francophone (RTBF) reported on Tuesday.
Alexander de Croo's federal government has made a commitment to tackle “gender inequalities”.
The Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs have prepared a bill aimed at removing the reference to “
binary categories, male or female
”, considered “
unconstitutional
” in Belgium.
"
We want to implement this quickly,
" assured Jessika Soors, spokesperson for the Secretary of State for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity, Sarah Schlitz.
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The provisions of a “
transgender
”
law
of June 25, 2017, were deemed unreasonably “
binding
” and therefore “
discriminatory
” by the Belgian Constitutional Court.
In 2019, the Court partially censored the text, ruling that it did not allow “non-binary” people (people who identify themselves neither as men nor as women) to register as such, reports the Dutch-speaking Belgian daily,
De Standaard.
A genre X envisaged
The Belgian government had first proposed the gender "
X
" to anyone who does not recognize themselves in the choices "
male
" or "
female
".
Finally, the Belgian executive chose to completely remove the reproduction of sex on the identity card, according to a political note for 2022 submitted by the government to the Court.
Home Affairs still has to look into technical aspects, in particular the consequence of this abolition for the travel of Belgian citizens and the distribution of this new identity card.
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Secondly, the government is considering recording the genre in an “
inclusive
” manner, notes
De Staandard
.
This could be done through a “
third sex
” or a “
non-binary
”, or in another way, specifies the Belgian media.
To do this, the government promises a broad social debate with experts, such as the Institute for the equality of women and men (IGVM), through hearings in Parliament.
A simplified sex modification
Since January 1, 2018, transgender people in Belgium can officially change the sex registration and their first names without having to meet certain medical conditions.
"
To change their civil sex, it is enough for the transgender person to be deeply convinced that their birth sex does not correspond to their deep feelings, to their gender,
" specifies the Belgian federal public service.
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