Reuters

• Hussein, raised as a girl by his family, fights Arab norms

Bahrain, Nov 6 (mb): With his wrestler’s build and deep voice, it is hard to believe that Hussein Rabei could ever be mistaken for a woman, but in the Middle East cultural norms can blind people to the obvious.

Formerly known as Zaineb, 33-year-old Rabei was raised as a girl after being born with genitalia that more closely resembled a female than a male one.

Arab culture and its rigid views on gender meant doctors ignored growing signs that Rabei may in fact be male, he said.

“When I married, my husband used to say, ‘It’s funny, but when I’m with you it feels like I’m with one of the guys, not my wife,”’ said Rabei, who is now divorced.

Rabei returned recently from an operation in Thailand to correct his gender — a procedure for which he obtained consent from both Sunni and Shi’ite clerics.

He is the first Bahraini to go public with news of such an operation, his lawyer said. It triggered a flood of media coverage and condemnation from many of his fellow Bahrainis for what they see as a procedure forbidden by Islam.

Though Iran permits sex-changes, homosexuality is punishable by death or by imprisonment and lashings in other Middle Eastern countries, depicting rigid stance to perceived gender norms.