I wasn’t expecting much, but holy f**k. This cannot be a real story? Was it spiked and some rebel faction within the outlet posted it anyway? I ask but no one cares about this right now. Russia has executed a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainians are holding on, putting up a hellacious defense but they need more arms and ammunition. Scores are fleeing the country. Martial law has been declared. All males 18-60 cannot leave the country. General mobilization orders have been issued, but let’s focus on how hard life is on the transgenders of Ukraine. What?
Via CBS News:
Transgender acceptance in Ukraine is not widespread, and changing legal documents to match gender requires a long process with psychiatric examinations. CBS News spoke with one woman in Kyiv who is now battling a "war within a war" amid Russia's invasion https://t.co/DJ6vFwmLuR pic.twitter.com/7Qp4eTCGMt
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 1, 2022
Zi Faámelu was born and raised in Crimea, an area of Ukraine that was invaded and taken over by Russia in 2014. Now the 31-year-old lives in Kyiv, the capital city that has been under Russian siege for nearly a week. She is running out of food and hasn't left her house for days as gunfire erupts outside.
And she says she can't leave.
Faámelu, who is transgender, said that transphobia is pervasive in the city and neighboring countries, and fears that if she leaves, the tension of the ongoing conflict will make her more susceptible to violence. Faámelu was previously a popular contestant on the Ukrainian singing competition show "Star Factory."
[…]
"There's no way Ukrainian border people can let me through," she said. "There's no way."
If she makes it to the border of a neighboring country offering refuge, she's not even sure if they'll let her in, as her passport identification does not match her gender. The LGBTQ community has become more visible and accepted over the years, but for transgender people, it's more complicated.
"This is not a very rainbow-friendly place. ... Lives for trans people are very bleak here," Faámelu said. "If you have a male gender in your passport, they will not let you go abroad. They will not let you through."
For years, transgender people in Ukraine who wanted to be legally recognized had a long list of steps they had to go through to do so. According to Human Rights Watch, the government mandated that transgender people undergo extensive psychiatric observation and under gender reassignment surgery to get legal documents that aligned with their gender.
Really, guys? This is part of your war coverage? Not saying that this isn’t a tragic story, but you know what the angle is here. It’s the Left being annoying. There is a war going on but remember, we must be ‘woke.’ Russia’s 40-mile-long military convoy could pinch off a key route that has allowed outside aid and ammunition to flow into the country. Kyiv remains under siege. These brave Ukrainians are holding out, but for how much longer? What will the implications be for their proposed fast-tracked admittance into the European Union? Is that even a good idea? Those are some stories that are frankly much more important. No one cares about this transgender stuff in Ukraine right now. It’s not hard, guys. This is a war.