Mr. Hasan Mousavi Chelk, Director of Socially Vulnerable Groups at the State Agency for National Well-Being in Iran, has said that the Iranian Military will no longer classify transgender people as “people with mental disorders.”

In France Health minister Roselyne Bachelot announced last May that the country would move to de-list the condition as a mental illness. This week the government confirmed the move.

Although France has made the move, the World Health Organisation and the American Psychiatric Association continue to list the condition as a mental illness, rather than a medical condition. However, trans advocates hope this will encourage them to follow suit.

The new policy in Iran comes after two years of consultation between the National Well-Being Agency and the Iranian Armed Services. The new regulations will allow transgender people to be classified either as “people with hormonal imbalance” or “diabetics.”

Mr. Chelk says most of the Iranian public is not informed about transgender people, whom he describes as “people with sexual identity disorder.” He says the Iranian government considers transgender people as its citizens and has a favorable view towards them.”

According to Mr Chelk, there are currently 4,000 self-identified transgender people in Iran.