20 trans/intersex persons in or from West Asia who changed things by example and/or achievement

Physician

• Dr Khal‘atbari operated on Kubra in 1930
• Bahram Mir-djalali (1939 - ) Tehran surgeon, trained in Paris, has done over 1000 sex change surgeries. GVWW  

Lawyer

• Fawziya Janahi (1962 - ) Bahraini lawyer who has represented trans men. GVWW
  

Clerics

• Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1902 – 1989) issued a fatwa in 1983 to permit transsexual changes. GVWW
  
• Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg (1915 – 2006) Jerusalem Rabbi ruled in late 1960s that a post-operative transsexual has changed her halachic gender. GVWW
  
• Muhammad Mehdi Kariminia wrote an Islamic PhD on transsexuality, published as Sex Change, From Legal and Islamic Jurisprudence Perspective, 2011. Newsarticle
  

A special mention for Yasmene Jabar, a US American, who set up the web sites Cafe Trans Arabi and the International Transsexual Sisterhood, the first to help trans women in west Asia. In 2005 she was involved in the Trans Eastern Conference (TEC) in Istanbul. GVWW


Persons

1. Assurbanipal/Sardanapalos (685-627 BCE) Assyrian King fond of spending time with his wives dressed in female clothing and makeup.   
2. Elagabalus (203 – 222) Roman Emperor from age 14 to 18, born of a Syrian dynasty. Reputed to do what would now be regarded as gay and trans. EN.Wikipedia    
3. Lucy Hester Stanhope (1776 - 1939), niece of UK Prime Minister William Pitt, settled in Palestine and wore male Arabic dress.  Book     Book 
   
4. Kubra (1909 - ?) Iranian who had transgender surgery in in 1927. GVWW
5. A Ma'dan mustergil (1917–?) landowner and poet.  GVWW
   
6. Rina Natan (1923 - ?) earliest known Israeli trans woman. Newsarticle
7. Maryam Molkara (1950 - ) Iranian activist who persuaded Ayatollah Khomeini to issue a fatwa permitting gender changes. GVWW    EN.Wikipedia
   
8. Bülent Ersoy (1952 - ) Turkish singer, actor. GVWW      EN.Wikipedia
   
9. Charles Kane (1960 - ) Iraqi born businessman in London, changeback. GVWW
   
10. Demet Demir (1961 - ) Turkish activist. First trans woman and the first person considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International because of “sexual orientation”. Awarded 1997 Felip de Souza Award. GVWW
    
11. ? (196? - ) a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards served five years in the war with Iraq. Her operation was paid for by a Muslim cleric whom she had worked for as a secretary, and later married. Newsarticle.
    
12. Saman Arastu (1967 - ) Iranian actor. Newsarticle
    
13. Sharon Cohen/Dana International (1972 - ) Israeli singer, Eurovision winner. GVWW     EN.Wikipedia
    
14. Hussain Rabie (1974 - ) Bahraini para-athletic shot-putter and discus thrower GVWW
    
15. Aderet (1976 - ) Israeli singer GVWW     EN.Wikipedia    
    
16. Pooya Mohseni (1978 - ) Iranian actress in New York. GVWW
    
17. Rüzgar Erkoçlar (1986 - ) Turkish actor GVWW
    
18. Yuval Topper-Erez (1988 - ) Israeli trans man parent of two. Newsarticle
    
19. Leyla Çalışkan (199? - ) Turkish basketball scout and trainer. Newsarticle
    
20. Michelle Denishevich (199? - ) Turkish news reporter. Newsarticle