Thursday, November 25, 2004
The Ayatollah and the Transsexual
That Maryam Khatoon Molkara can live a normal life is due to a compassionate decision by one man: the leader of the Islamic revolution himself.
Maryam Khatoon Molkara is the first to admit that she has had a complicated life. A plump, good-looking, middle-aged woman with strong features, she is ladylike and not a little flirtatious. "Marry me," she said. "Take me away and we'll live in Italy."
Keen not to complicate matters further, your correspondent declined the offer. Ms Molkara used to be called Fereydoon - Mr Fereydoon Molkara. And now she is a transsexual living in the Islamic Republic of Iran: someone who has volunteered to go under the veil. During the past 54 years, she has seen seismic shifts in both her body and her homeland.
Recently dozens of transsexuals - including a former Republican Guard - have been able to openly seek treatment to switch sexes. And it is largely thanks to Ms Molkara and a personal campaign that saw her twice appeal directly to the very man who charted Iran's shift to theocracy - the Ayatollah Khomeini. ...
That Maryam Khatoon Molkara can live a normal life is due to a compassionate decision by one man: the leader of the Islamic revolution himself.
Maryam Khatoon Molkara is the first to admit that she has had a complicated life. A plump, good-looking, middle-aged woman with strong features, she is ladylike and not a little flirtatious. "Marry me," she said. "Take me away and we'll live in Italy."
Keen not to complicate matters further, your correspondent declined the offer. Ms Molkara used to be called Fereydoon - Mr Fereydoon Molkara. And now she is a transsexual living in the Islamic Republic of Iran: someone who has volunteered to go under the veil. During the past 54 years, she has seen seismic shifts in both her body and her homeland.
Recently dozens of transsexuals - including a former Republican Guard - have been able to openly seek treatment to switch sexes. And it is largely thanks to Ms Molkara and a personal campaign that saw her twice appeal directly to the very man who charted Iran's shift to theocracy - the Ayatollah Khomeini. ...
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