ABOVE: Photo via Washington Blade.
Argentina became the first country in Latin America to issue ID cards that are specifically for non-binary people on July 21.
President Alberto Fernández issued a decree that allows non-binary Argentines to choose an “X” gender marker on their National Identity Document or DNI.
“The recognition of the gender identity of people who identify themselves outside gender binary norms is a big advance for the entire society, because it puts to an end the mandatory imposition of ‘male’ or ‘female’ categories,” reads Fernández’s decree. “The decree implements the rights recognized under the Gender Identity Law, interpreting its scope beyond binaryism.”
The Gender Rights Law that took effect in 2012, among other things, allows Argentines to legally change their gender without medical intervention. Fernández last September signed a decree that requires at least 1 percent of all jobs in the country’s public sector to go to transgender people.
Marcela Romero, a Buenos Aires-based trans activist who is also a member of REDLACTRANS (The Latin America and Caribbean Network of Transgender People) Executive Board, in a statement said the decree “once again positions Argentina” as a world leader in extending rights to gender non-conforming people.
#Argentina @marcela__romero coord regional de RedLacTrans y presidenta @ATTTA_Nacional estuvo en acto presidencial donde se entregaron DNI No Binaries. "La Ley de Identidad de Género es el marco legal para los DNI no binaries ¡Leyes de Identidad de Genero para toda la región YA!" pic.twitter.com/OY1n1Qcr50
— RedLacTrans (@REDLACTRANS) July 21, 2021
Mariano Ruiz, another Argentine LGBTQ rights activist, echoed Romero.
“The recognition of the identity of non-binary people by the State leaves no doubt about the interpretation of the Gender Identity Law,” Ruiz told the Washington Blade on Wednesday.
Ruiz also noted the public sector employment law is named after two trans activists — Diana Sacayán, who was killed in 2016, and Lohana Berlina, who died in 2012.
“Once again and after the recent approval of the Diana Sacayán-Lohana Berlina Labor Quota Law, the Argentine government has shown its firm commitment to sexual and gender diversity and sets the course for where the Latin America region should go,” said Ruiz. “We hope that this is only the beginning and we will soon have a new law against discriminatory acts, a comprehensive law for trans people and a new law for HIV and viral hepatitis.”
