The Latin American Herald Tribune is reporting that trans woman Marcela Romera has been named by lawmakers as Argentina’s 2009 Woman of the Year.
The honor was conferred by the Committee on Women and the Family in the lower house of the Argentine Congress in recognition of Romero’s 10-year court battle to have legal documents issued recognizing her identity as a woman.
“I am what I am. The right of one person is the right of all,” said Romero, who recently won her court battle.
Romero, vice president of Argentina’s Association of Transvestites, Transsexuals and Transgender Persons, was chosen from among a dozen nominees for the award, including women active in combating poverty, drugs and environmental degradation, the newspaper said. Past recipients of the Woman of the Year prize include physicist Maria Teresa Dova and philosopher and academic Carolina Scotto, the first female chancellor of the National University of Cordoba.
The Herald Tribune also noted that some people walked out of the chamber when Romero was announced as the winner.
