Medical Issues: Gender Change
lit 8/29/2026 · 25 entries · 0 followers · 0 likes
⚖️ Fiqh & LawJurist: Sayyid Ali KhameneiTopic: Gender ChangeMadhhab / school: Shia Ithna 'AshariyahSection: Medical Issues#fiqh#khamenei#qa
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Some people have the appearance of men. They have female psychological and sexual tendencies though. If they do not undergo the operation of sex change, they might commit sins insofar as their sexual behavior is concerned. Is it permissible for them to undergo such an operation?
Answer
Changing gender is impermissible unless there is a reliable evidence, according to science and `urf, that the person who wants to undergo such an operation belongs to the opposite gender, in case of which undergoing the said operation is permissible without taking into consideration the secondary rules which may apply here like the rules on looking at private parts of non-maḥrams or touching them. The same ruling applies if their belonging to the opposite gender is not proved but their belonging to their apparent gender is not proved either and they suffer from severe psychological problems, in case of which it is not remote to say that undergoing the said surgery/s is allowed.