Penang-born Regina Ibrahim advocates the rights of transgender persons through her writings and public appearances. But the conservative climate in the country today makes things quite difficult.
During the TEDxWeldQuayWomen event in May last year, Regina Ibrahim was probably the tallest and sexiest woman in the room. Dressed in a caramel-coloured shift dress, sky-high stilettos and a copper necklace, Regina was asking for public tolerance, if not for acceptance, for the transgender community.
Having lived most of her life biologically as a man, Regina took the plunge to completely assume the identity of a woman at the age of 42; she went for sexual reassignment surgery (SRS), which includes the removal of male genitalia and the reconstruction of female genitalia.
Today, the 50-year-old former teacher is the face and voice of Penang’s transsexual community and has published two books to further her advocacy.
