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Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Politics
Al Jazeera Staff

Trans women aren’t legally women: What the UK Supreme Court ruling means

Activists queue to enter the Supreme Court to challenge gender recognition laws, in London, UK, Wednesday, April 16, 2025 [Kin Cheung/AP]

The United Kingdom’s Supreme Court has ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” refer to a “biological woman and biological sex” under UK equality laws, bringing a long-running court battle between feminist groups and the government of Scotland to an end.

Wednesday’s ruling is expected to have far-reaching consequences for policies on whether and how spaces and services reserved for women should be extended to include “trans women” – those born male who have transitioned socially or medically or who identify as women – such as changing rooms, domestic violence shelters and medical services.

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