CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
A Malaysian court has annulled the marriage of a Muslim couple after ruling that both were women even though they lived together as husband and wife, a lawyer said Tuesday.
An Islamic sharia court in southern Melaka state ruled that Mohamad Sofian Mohamad and Zaiton Aziz, both in their early 40s, would have to separate because doctors found that the ''husband''--who sports short-cropped hair and dresses as a man--had female sexual organs, said Mohamad Mokhtar Karim, a lawyer for the state.
''From the examination results, he's entirely a woman,'' Mohamad Mokhtar told the Associated Press. ''Mohamad Sofian was born 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,'' Mohamad Mokhtar said.
The lawyer said Mohamad Sofian, originally given the female name Mazinah Mohamad after birth, had mistakenly been allowed to change her name to a male one on her identity card.
Same-sex marriages are neither allowed under sharia law, which governs civil matters for all Muslims, nor recognized by Malaysia's secular laws, which apply to ethnic Indians, Chinese, and other non-Muslims, who make up 40% of the country's 27 million people.
Mohamad Mokhtar said the question of whether the two women were lesbians was not raised in court and was ''speculation.''
The couple married in a mosque in Melaka in 2002, but the state's Register of Marriage filed a lawsuit against the couple following complaints by the bride's family that the groom was a woman, Mohamad Mokhtar said.
In 2005 the government declared a same-sex marriage between an ethnic Chinese transsexual--still legally a man--and her male partner invalid. (AP)
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
Joe Biden admin marks Earth Day with major environmental initiatives
April 22 2024 4:18 PM
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott: 'We want to end' trans and gender nonconforming teachers
April 22 2024 4:13 PM
Nonbinary 17-year-old killed two years after being reported missing
April 22 2024 3:46 PM
Pride
Yahoo FeedIndulge in luxury and sensuality with The Pride Store’s Taurus gift guide
April 22 2024 11:46 AM
The gay man leading the Earth Day Initiative offers hope for the future
April 22 2024 9:00 AM
Pattie Gonia takes drag and fierceness to Capitol Hill to voice environmental concerns
April 22 2024 8:23 AM
Jodie Foster leaves her mark in cement at L.A.'s Chinese Theatre
April 22 2024 7:55 AM
Climate change has a bigger impact on LGBTQ+ couples than straight couples. Here's how
April 22 2024 7:42 AM
Iraq postpones vote on bill punishing gay sex with death
April 20 2024 1:31 PM
Russian poetry contest bans entries from transgender poets
April 20 2024 1:25 PM
Here's who won 'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 16
April 20 2024 1:01 PM
The Tip Off: A beginners guide to the WNBA
April 20 2024 11:06 AM
John Fetterman challenges Pa. school board’s cancellation of talk by gay actor
April 19 2024 2:39 PM
New study finds inadequate response to mpox outbreak
April 19 2024 2:06 PM