German court rules for third gender in birth registry

Germany's top court has ruled that there must be the option of registering a gender that is neither male nor female on birth certificates.

It would make Germany the first European country to allow parents to designate their intersex offspring as a third gender.

The case was brought by a registered female whose chromosome test confirmed they were neither sex.

Activists described it as a "small revolution".

The constitutional court in Karlsruhe has given the government until the end of 2018 to pass a law specifying a category other than male or female.

It said current regulations on civil status were discriminatory against intersex people.

The category could be called "inter" or "various".

A German government spokesperson said the government would comply with the ruling.

The activist group Third Option which has been campaigning for official recognition said on Twitter that it was "completely overwhelmed and speechless".

Intersex people are born with a mixture of male and female sex characteristics. 

The UN says the condition affects up to 1.7% of the world's population.

SOURCE: BBC NEWS
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