Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
Publication
University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law
Volume
45
Abbreviation
U. Pa. J. Int’l L.
First Page
269
Abstract
The Supreme Court of Nepal was a groundbreaker when it ruled in Pant v. Nepal (2007) that people have the right to change their gender on identity documents based on “self-feelings” and “self-determination” rather than medical or other criteria; at the time, no other national apex court or government had so clearly prioritized self-determination for gender identity. Pant, however, centered “third gender” persons (neither male nor female), and now the Court is considering the case of a transgender woman, Ms. Kapali, who seeks to be identified as female on her documents and is challenging authorities that rejected her requests.
Analyzing Ms. Kapali’s claim through comparative law, the Article charts a rapidly expanding global trajectory recognizing self-determination of legal gender—including binary transitions—and roots this trend in compelling human rights principles. It presents a dataset and synthesis showing that comparative, constitutional, and international law strongly support gender self-determination on identity documents, positioning Nepal to once again lead on gender identity rights while offering the most comprehensive study to date of global gender self-determination laws with implications beyond Nepal.