The New Zealand First party, which is part of the ruling coalition in New Zealand, has introduced a bill in parliament that seeks to define the terms “woman“ and “man“ solely on the basis of biological sex. If adopted, the bill would exclude trans men and women from legal recognition according to their social gender, Reuters reported, quoted by News.bg.
The initiative was presented as an individual proposal by a party MP and must first be drawn at random from the legislative ballot box before being discussed in the plenary hall. Therefore, the possibility of its adoption at this stage is considered limited.
New Zealand First leader and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said that “laws must reflect biological reality and provide legal clarity“. He said the need for such legislation was a consequence of “the delusions of the left“. “We are fighting to restore normalcy“, he stressed in an official statement.
Opposition leader Chris Hipkins criticized the proposal as “typical populist politics“ and noted that, amid economic hardship, rising unemployment and a health crisis, such initiatives do not meet the real priorities of New Zealanders.
The bill proposes changes to the definitions of key terms in other legislation, including “de facto partner“, focusing on the biological interpretation of gender.
The proposal comes shortly after a landmark ruling by the UK Supreme Court that the legal definition of “woman“ only includes people with biological female sex. The ruling has raised concerns among transgender rights advocates but has been welcomed by the British government as a step towards “legal clarity“.
The issue of transgender rights remains politically sensitive in a number of countries. Conservatives accuse progressive movements of undermining "biological truth," while activists and human rights groups warn of increasing stigma and discrimination. In the United States, for example, former President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders, including a ban on transgender people serving in the military, a move that has sparked widespread protests and legal battles.