Argentina introduces gender neutral passports and IDs

 (Photo: Unsplash/Blake Guidry)

Argentina has changed passport and ID rules to permit a non-binary gender identification for the first time. 

It is the first country in South America to introduce gender neutral passports and IDs. 

Argentina already allows citizens to identify as gender neutral under law.

The change means that Argentinians who do not identify as male or female can select 'X' in the gender section. 

Argentina's Center-Left President Alberto Fernandez, was quoted by Deutsche Welle as saying that there were "a thousand ways to love, to be loved and to be happy," and that "the state should not care about the gender of its citizens". 

"There are other identities than men and women and they must be respected," he said.

He continued, "The ideal will be when all of us are just who we are and no one cares about people's gender.

"This is a step we are taking and I hope one day we get to the point where IDs don't say if someone is a man, woman or anything else."

It is the latest progressive step in the country, which has permitted same-sex marriage since 2010 and allowed people to legally identify as the opposite sex without a medical transition since 2012.

News
What we can learn from Mary of Bethany
What we can learn from Mary of Bethany

Dear reader, what would it look like for you to be a Mary of Bethany in this day and age?

Why the world needs more women like Dullari
Why the world needs more women like Dullari

In the UK, gender equality conversations often focus on pay gaps or female representation in leadership, but in Nepal the struggle is far more basic. It is whether a girl can go to school, whether a woman can seek medical care without permission from her husband, and whether she can live in her own home without fear.

Fresh drive to reach 100,000 girls with anti-trafficking programme
Fresh drive to reach 100,000 girls with anti-trafficking programme

An international charity has committed to reaching 100,000 girls worldwide who are at risk of human trafficking. 

The story of the Bible’s female leaders
The story of the Bible’s female leaders

8 March is International Women’s Day. In the Bible we can read about the roles that many women played in leadership and ministry. This is the story …