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Dubbed torture, ID policies leave transgender people sterile

Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, poses for a portrait in Singapore, on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. She was raised as a boy by a protective mother and a conservative, stern father she grew to fear. Though he socialized Loh to be masculine, she knew early on that her body did not match who she was. Her first realization -- or "flash point" -- that something was off came one night at age 8, when she caught her distorted reflection in a window and suddenly imagined herself with long hair. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, snaps her fingers in approval during an open mic night for poets in Singapore, on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. Poetry has long been a lifeline for Loh. In between military exercises, she often lay in her bunk, typing poems into her phone. After her shifts, she put on makeup and a wig and went to open mic nights around the city that drew members of the LGBTQ community. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, rides in a car to attend an open mic night for poets in Singapore, on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. Poetry has long been a lifeline for Loh. In between military exercises, she often lay in her bunk, typing poems into her phone. After her shifts, she put on makeup and a wig and went to open mic nights around the city that drew members of the LGBTQ community. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, smiles during an interview in Singapore, on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. She was raised as a boy by a protective mother and a conservative, stern father she grew to fear. Though he socialized Loh to be masculine, she knew early on that her body did not match who she was. Her first realization -- or "flash point" -- that something was off came one night at age 8, when she caught her distorted reflection in a window and suddenly imagined herself with long hair. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, speaks on the phone with her mother in Singapore, on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. Loh is still healing from the wounds of her military past. And she finds herself grappling with questions about her future: Like whether any company will ever employ her, or whether she will ever be able to have a biological child, all because her government refuses to see her for who she is. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, speaks to a friend in Singapore, on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. Loh is still healing from the wounds of her military past. And she finds herself grappling with questions about her future: Like whether any company will ever employ her, or whether she will ever be able to have a biological child, all because her government refuses to see her for who she is. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, demonstrates how she pulls her hair back to avoid questions from immigration officers about why her appearance does not match the gender marker on her passport, in Singapore, on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. The legal documents that define our identity are crucial to navigating life and the world, from getting a bank loan to crossing a border. In much of the world, changing gender markers on identification documents remains impossible. Under Singapore law, Loh is still considered a man, because she has not undergone surgery that would render her sterile. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, walks through a playground, a common feature of public housing in Singapore, as she heads to lunch on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. Loh finds herself grappling with questions about her future: Like whether any company will ever employ her, or whether she will ever be able to have a biological child, all because her government refuses to see her for who she is. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, hangs her laundry as part of her daily chores in Singapore, on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. In some countries, sterilization is in itself a prerequisite for legal gender recognition, explicitly spelled out in the law. In others, the wording is more vague, requiring some form of surgery without specifying what procedures are mandated or whether sterility needs to be a result. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, holds a helmet that was issued to her when she served in the military in Singapore, in this Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, photo. Singapore's compulsory, two-year military service is required only for 18-year-old men. But under Singapore law, Loh was still considered a man, because she had not undergone surgery that would render her sterile. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) The identity card and Singapore passport belonging to Lune Loh, a 25-year-old transgender woman, rests on her study table in Singapore, on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. In some countries, sterilization is in itself a prerequisite for legal gender recognition, explicitly spelled out in the law. In others, the wording is more vague, requiring some form of surgery without specifying what procedures are mandated or whether sterility needs to be a result. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, looks at her collection of dresses at her home in Singapore, on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. As a Singaporean, she finds herself grappling with questions about her future: Like whether any company will ever employ her, or whether she will ever be able to have a biological child, all because her government refuses to see her for who she is. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, leans against the door frame of her bathroom at home in Singapore, on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. Across the world, scores of countries still require transgender people to submit to sterilizing surgeries before their genders are legally recognized. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, looks at herself in a mirror in her living room in Singapore, on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. She was raised as a boy by a protective mother and a conservative, stern father she grew to fear. Though he socialized Loh to be masculine, she knew early on that her body did not match who she was. Her first realization -- or "flash point" -- that something was off came one night at age 8, when she caught her distorted reflection in a window and suddenly imagined herself with long hair. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, poses for a portrait in her home in Singapore, on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. She was raised as a boy by a protective mother and a conservative, stern father she grew to fear. Though he socialized Loh to be masculine, she knew early on that her body did not match who she was. Her first realization -- or "flash point" -- that something was off came one night at age 8, when she caught her distorted reflection in a window and suddenly imagined herself with long hair. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Lune Loh, 25, a transgender woman, is seen in a reflection on windows while attending an open mic night for poets in Singapore, on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. Poetry has been a lifeline for Loh. In between military exercises, she often lay in her bunk, typing poems into her phone. After her shifts, she put on makeup and a wig and went to open mic nights around the city that drew members of the LGBTQ community. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)