Belgium strikes in direction of introducing “X” as third gender

Shafaq News/ Belgium plans to introduce the letter “X” as a third gender on official documents, along with male or female. The country’s new coalition government has pledged to be more inclusive since coming to office last month. 

Rather than being forced to pick between male and female, citizens could instead pick the letter X on their birth certificates and identity cards, under the proposed new rules.

The decision follows a Constitutional Court ruling last year, which found Belgium’s transgender laws were not inclusive enough.

The Constitutional Court said that was “restrictive and discriminatory” because people would still have to choose between ticking the male or female box on the documents. According to the British Journal.

The move in Belgium, which could face some opposition from conservative parties outside of government, comes as some countries across Europe move towards more liberal policies.