• As LGBTQ community protest poor facilties in S Africa

More countries are beginning to roll back the spiraling influence of non natural sexuality and gender choices, especially bisexual, transgender and neutral gender pervasions that seek legal affirmations across the globe.

Slovakia weekend rolled out new set of laws after it changed its constitution, recognizing only two the male and female.

The populist-nationalist government argued the amendment was necessary to protect what it described as “traditional values.”

The legal change, which passed in a knife-edge vote in the central European nation’s parliament, also restricts adoption to married heterosexual couples and prohibits surrogate pregnancies.

The constitutional amendment was defined as enshrining “sovereignty in cultural and ethical matters”.

Critics including Amnesty International have warned the change will make life more difficult for the lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, saying it brings the country’s legal system closer to Hungary’s illiberal government or Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Parliament’s backing of the amendment came as a surprise to observers, with even the prime minister conceding as late as Thursday it might not pass.

Robert Fico’s government – a coalition of populist, leftist and nationalist parties – needed at least 90 votes in the 150-seat Slovak National Council to change the constitution, but realistically only control 78 seats.

In the end, 12 opposition MPs voted with the government. The conservative Christian Democrats had long been expected to lend their support, but several members of former Prime Minister Igor Matovic’s Slovakia movement added their votes at the last minute, tipping the scales.

Matovic described them as traitors.

Fico praised the vote and said his party would have a shot of liquor to celebrate their success. “This isn’t a little dam, or just a regular dam – this is a great dam against progressivism,” he declared.

He had previously argued that what he called liberal ideology was “spreading like cancer”.

Slovak legal scholars say a constitutional amendment enshrining the primacy of the Slovak constitution over EU law is a direct challenge to the European Union, and will lead to legal battles and potentially sanctions.

Some said the move was merely a ploy by Fico to distract attention from falling poll ratings and unpopular policies.

“The Slovak constitution has fallen victim to Robert Fico’s plan to dismantle the opposition and divert attention from the real problems of society, as well as the austerity measures he had to pass,” Beata Balagova, editor-in-chief of Slovak daily SME, told the BBC.

“Fico does not genuinely care about gender issues, the ban on surrogate motherhood, or even adoptions by LGBTQ people,” she added.

Most opposition MPs stayed away from parliament and Progressive Slovakia, which is leading the polls, said the betrayal marked the end of any potential co-operation with Matovic and his party.

President Peter Pellegrini said he would sign the amendment.

“At a time of enormous division within Slovak society, a constitutional majority is an important signal that there is agreement on a specific issue across the political spectrum, and it must be respected,” he said following the vote.

Fico’s Smer-Social Democracy party has now strayed so far from the progressive values espoused by Europe’s centre-left mainstream that reports say it will be formally expelled from the Party of European Socialists (PES) at a conference next month.

Smer was suspended in 2023 after forming a coalition with the far-right Slovak National Party. Since then, Fico has angered European allies by meeting Putin four times in less than 12 months.

The development in Slovakia comes as an example of raging questions over the necessity of world governments to stretch their laws to accommodate deviant behaviors and disruption of natural biological order.

Issues of social demand and reconfiguration of infrastructure and amenities to accommodate rising transgender population have continued to raise conflicts across the globe.

Also at the weekend, South Africa’s transgender community said it eagerly anticipated a court ruling that could change their lives.

The Equality Court at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Sept. 12 reserved judgment for a case brought by Nthabiseng Mokoena, a trans woman who is an inmate at the Johannesburg Correctional Center (Sun City Prison) against the Department of Correctional Services and other officials.

According to Mokoena, who is being represented by Lawyers for Human Rights and others, the DCS commits systemic discrimination against trans inmates by refusing to recognize their gender identity and denying them basic gender-affirming rights.

Mokoena also argued the DCS has violated her rights by refusing her chosen name and pronouns, not allowing her to wear clothing and use cosmetics and toiletries that correspond with her gender expression, bullying her, and denying her gender-affirming healthcare.

“The transphobia within DCS’s senior management is undeniable,” said Mokoena. “There’s a clear difference in how heterosexual inmates are treated compared to members of the LGBTQI+ community. The LGBTQI+ community is often treated as less than human.”

Mokoena also said there is no recourse for her and other trans people when they are victimized; they are rather punished when they try to stand up for themselves.

Mokoena as a result wants the court to order the defendants to provide her with gender-affirming healthcare, assistance in legally changing her name and gender marker, and to be housed in a single cell or with other inmates who share her gender identity.

Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane, a nonbinary lawyer who represents Mokoena, said gender-affirming healthcare is recognized by medical professionals worldwide as essential healthcare.

“Gender-affirming care is not elective or optional, it is life-saving,” said Mokgoroane. “Denial of such care amounts to cruel and inhumane treatment, which is incompatible with the values enshrined in our constitution and international human rights standard. Trans rights are human rights.”

Access Chapter 2, a local LGBTQ organization which filed an amicus brief in support of Mokoena in the Equality Court, said it stands with her and all trans people who face systematic discrimination.

Thabsie Mabezane, acting media and programs director at Lebo Basadi Foundation, an LGBTQ rights organization, said trans issues are complex and multifaceted and require a comprehensive approach that addresses legal discrimination, societal stigma, economic oppression, and healthcare access.

Even though South Africa has made strides in recognizing and advancing the rights of trans people, systematic and deeply-rooted transphobia in the country make it difficult for them to live openly and access gender-affirming health care.