Hungary only gave trans people the right to change their legal gender last year.
Last year, the Hungarian government passed laws allowing people to change their legal gender to match their gender identity. However, trans people have criticised the government for withholding the evaluations.
As a protest, many marched through the streets of Budapest demanding the government allow the trans community to change their legal genders and names, arguing it was a “fundamental human right.”
One of the speakers at the march, Ivett Ördög explained some of the risks that she faced due to the government not allowing her to legally change he gender. “One time I was at the post office and the police were called on me because the post office clerk thought I was a fraud,” she said.
“Another time I gave up on playing billiards because in order to play, my ID card should have been submitted to the bartender who looked like an extremist, intolerant person.”
Emma Molnár, another trans speaker at the event explained how her life improved after she received the official documentation. “My real life started after my 18th birthday when I finally received my official documents which were fit to my gender,” she said.
“That made it possible to study, travel or to work without any trouble, like any other citizen in this country.
“Until that, I had to hide from the public as a private student because of the harassment. An experience no one should live through.”
Hungary does not have a good track record when it comes to LGBTQ rights, with a lot of homophobic rhetoric coming from the current leader’s, Victor Orban, administration.
Recently, the country banned Coca-Cola ads featuring same-sex couples, arguing that they were “detrimental” to the growth of children, and they also recently pulled out of Eurovision, amid claims that it was “too gay” for them.
Andras Bencik, TV commentator and editor of a pro-government magazine, called Eurovision a “homosexual flotilla” and suggested that the country’s mental health would be improved by bowing out of the competition.
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