Ramos says the law in his country sees him as a provider only and stands with the mother and so to protect his daughters from an abusive environment he is willing to change his gender and turn into a woman.
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René Salinas Ramos, 47, has changed his gender identification in a desperate attempt to gain custody of his two young daughters following a split from his wife.
The man is now listed as female on official documents in his native Ecuador — despite the fact he still identifies as a cisgender male in his everyday life.
The dad says he took the extreme step due to the country's justice system which always stands with the mother in custody cases.
Jam Press
“Being a father in this country, Ecuador, is punished and I’m only seen as a provider,” Ramos told local outlet La Voz del Tomebamba. “What I have been looking for is to give the love and protection that a mother can give her children.”
Ramos says that his daughters are living in an abusive environment with their mother — and claims he hasn’t seen his children in more than five months.
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“The laws say that the one who has the right is the woman. As of this moment, I am female. Now I’m also a mom, that’s how I consider myself,” Ramos told media assembled outside the city of Cuenca’s Civil Registry office on Dec. 30. “I am very sure of my sexuality. What I have sought is that I want to be a mother, so that I can also give the love and protection of a mother.”
Jam Press
But Ramos actions are not appreciated by the activists across the country who fought hard to have the law changed for genuine trans citizens. The Ecuadorian Federation of LGBTI Organizations released a statement denouncing Ramos’ “outlandish” actions earlier this week.
“This man’s private matter, to obtain custody of his daughters, isn’t the spirit of the law,” prominent trans activist Diane Rodríguez, Ecuador’s first trans Assembly member and national director of the Ecuadorian Federation of LGBTI Organizations, told VICE World News.
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Rodríguez also told the outlet she first thought this was “fake news” — but now “we are afraid that in the Assembly things will go backwards and they will start legislating against us.”
The custody battle between dad and ex-wife continues.
“Until this matter is resolved, [the children] have to stay with their mother,” Ramos said, as reported by Jam Press. “The law is taking away our right to be parents. [Changing my official documents] is a proof of love.”
Ramos is Ecuador’s first man to take advantage of the country's gender laws in an attempt to win the custody battle.
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According to Bankrate, transgender individuals can legally change their gender on their driver’s licenses in all 50 states — but the process can be challenging. Some states require a birth certificate amendment and proof of gender-affirming surgery.
A few months back in September, Montana became the latest country to allow transgenders to change their birth certificates after a long legal battle.