A new Reuters poll has shown a growing level of support for transgender women around the globe.
A new poll published on Friday by the Thomson Reuters Foundation asked women in five cities around the world their attitudes towards transgender women.
The poll asked 1,000 women in Cairo, London, Mexico City, New York and Tokyo: “Should transgender women have the same rights as other women?”. In total 798 answered yes, 37 said no and 165 declined to answer.
Support was highest in Mexico City (89%), followed by London and New York (both 87%), Tokyo (75%) and Cairo (62%), according to the survey conducted on the streets of each city between August 13-24.
Activists in Cairo stated their surprise at the results given it is very hard to live openly as a transgender woman in Egypt.
Local activist Lobna Darwish from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the results were a pleasant surprise.
“I’m very surprised by the poll, happily surprised, as there is a lot of ignorance around transgender issues,” Darwish said. The report said that many people in Cairo however did not know what a transgender woman was.
OIP Staff
