Two girls became the first people in the United Arab Emirates to undergo a sex-change operation from female to male.
According to Al Bayan newspaper, they underwent the surgery successfully in a European country, based on medical reports and a court verdict.
The two girls-turned-boys have applied to the Federal Court in Abu Dhabi to change their names and confirm their new male identity in government records.
Their decision to transform from girls to boys was biologically justified as they displayed signs of virility.
The medical reports cited moustaches, coarse voice and absence of feminine features in the upper part of their bodies in addition to other organic characteristics that differentiate man from woman.
“Specialised medical committees advised them to undergo the transgender surgery as they need a new male sex identity," said their lawyer Ali Al Mansouri.
The UAE federal law on medical accountability recognises the necessity to give patients who suffer from biological malfunction the chance to modify their sexual identity, instead of enduring lasting psychological and physical suffering.