Joanne Cassar, who underwent gender reassignment surgery to become a woman, is inching closer to winning her battle for the right to marry as the new Labour Government plans to reach a court settlement with her.
Finally I feel that Malta, my country, has accepted me as one of its daughters
“This makes me feel happy. Finally, I feel Malta, my country, has accepted me as one of its daughters. It would not have been the same had Malta been forced to do so by Europe,” the 31-year-old hairdresser told The Times yesterday.
Ms Cassar has a pending case against the Government before the European Court of Human Rights, for breaching her rights by refusing to issue marriage banns after her gender was changed to female on her birth certificate. The case was filed in mid-2011, under a Nationalist Government.
Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli yesterday confirmed a new Labour Government was planning to reach an agreement with Ms Cassar over her court case and amend the law that does not cater for people like Ms Cassar.
It is still not clear how exactly the law will be amended. The minister said further details will be given during a press conference scheduled for this morning.
One of Ms Cassar’s lawyers, David Camilleri, said that over the past weeks he had meetings with Government representatives on the case. He, however, preferred not to divulge further information at this stage.
Ms Cassar, who is expected to be present for today’s press conference, was also reluctant to comment when contacted but said she was thankful her voice had finally been heard by the authorities.
In a previous interview with The Times, Ms Cassar had said: “I’m not inferior to other women… They can invent a million types of partnerships. I want the right to marry... I am a woman and want the rights that come with it… If I win the case in Europe the victory will be for the whole country.”
Ms Cassar had surgery in the UK when she was 22 after being diagnosed with gender identity disorder, a conflict between a person’s physical gender and self-identification.
Ms Cassar’s battle for marriage started soon after when she and her partner applied for the wedding banns.
The Marriage Registrar refused to issue them even though Ms Cassar had legally changed her gender to female on her birth certificate after surgery.
Her wedding was planned for December 2007 although the couple are no longer together.
In February 2007, Ms Cassar won a civil case in which the court ordered the registrar to issue the wedding banns, but the decision was overturned on appeal in May 2008.
In May 2011, the Constitutional Court held that although Ms Cassar’s rights had been breached this was due to shortcomings in the law to cater for some form of partnership for people in her situation. It did not result that the banns should have been issued.
She then took the case the European Court of Human Rights. A few months ago the ECHR asked the Government if it wanted to reach an agreement with her but the Nationalist Government stuck to its argument – that marriage can only take place between a biological male and female and Ms Cassar’s gender was only changed on paper to protect her privacy.