A Review of Gender Reassignment in Iranian Law

A Review of Gender Reassignment in Iranian Law

For several years, the issue of gender reassignment has attracted serious attention in both Islamic jurisprudence and law, because a change in gender affects many legal rulings, including blood money, inheritance, custody, legal maturity, apostasy, and other related matters.

Legal Foundations of Gender Reassignment in the Iranian Legal System

Who Is Eligible to Apply for Gender Reassignment?

Under Iranian law, individuals who seek gender reassignment are classified into three categories. Before any surgical procedure, it must be determined which category the applicant belongs to, since authorization is issued based on this classification. This distinction is extremely important. For example, a person who undergoes gender reassignment in accordance with recognized medical standards may also apply to the competent court for correction of their birth certificate.

Physically Intersex Individuals

This group includes individuals who may possess both male and female sexual characteristics, sometimes with one being dominant over the other.

Another subgroup consists of individuals who outwardly appear to have only one sexual organ, but that organ is covered or obstructed by tissue, skin, or another physical condition. Surgical intervention in such cases is intended to reveal or correct the existing sex and is not considered gender reassignment.

In physically intersex cases, the presence of recognized medical and legal indicators is required, and any intervention must be based on a physician’s diagnosis. In individuals who possess both male and female organs, surgery is performed to remove one and strengthen the other.

Psychologically Intersex Individuals

In this group, the individual’s body is completely male or completely female, but their psychological identity and sexual inclination are inconsistent with their physical sex. In some cases, incomplete biological characteristics may also exist. For example, a person may appear female but lack a uterus and not experience menstruation.

Although there are differing opinions regarding psychologically intersex individuals, surgery is only considered permissible when, according to a physician’s diagnosis, the person must be assigned to one of the two sexes.

Ordinary Individuals

This category includes individuals whose physical sex and psychological identity are consistent and who have no medical disorder, yet request gender reassignment. Surgery in such cases is not permitted, for the following reasons:

First, preserving personal health is a legal and religious obligation, and without a justified medical reason, a person’s physical well being may not be endangered.

Second, the nature of gender reassignment surgery is to treat a medical condition and remove a disorder. If a person is medically healthy, no physician has the authority to authorize such surgery. If a physician were to do so, it would constitute a medical offense and professional liability.

Inheritance of a Child After Gender Reassignment

All jurists and legal scholars agree that, in matters of inheritance, the individual’s gender at the time of death is determinative. In other words, the person inherits based on the sex they have when they pass away. There is no significant disagreement on this point.

Inheritance Rights of Parents Who Have Undergone Gender Reassignment

With respect to parents who have changed their gender, two principal legal theories have been discussed:

The first theory holds that parents who have undergone gender reassignment do not inherit from their children. However, since Iranian civil law does not recognize gender reassignment as an obstacle to inheritance, this view has limited support.

The second theory maintains that such parents do inherit from their children, and that the basis of inheritance is the parent’s sex at the time of conception.

The first jurist to address the issue of gender reassignment surgery in Tahrir al Wasilah was Imam Khomeini. He stated in substance that if a father changes his gender, the person is neither considered the present father nor the present mother, and if a mother changes her gender, the person is neither considered the present mother nor the present father of the children. He further noted that there is doubt as to whether inheritance should be based on the status at the time of conception, kinship, or whether no inheritance applies. He concluded that it is preferable to hold that inheritance does apply, with the determining factor being the time of conception, and that a recommended precaution is for the parties to reach a mutual settlement.

Frequently Asked Questions About Gender Reassignment in Iranian Law