The opening of Pandora's box, from which various genera will emerge.
These words can currently be heard from the head of the leading religious community in North Macedonia, and regarding the legal proposal, which is not even certain that it will be in the parliamentary procedure.
Namely, even before the deputies in the Assembly found themselves in a position to discuss the draft law on civil registry books and gender equality, the Church demanded their withdrawal.
At that address, they believe that these two laws could "redefine the entire society".
They underline that the laws are "on the verge of adoption", regardless of the fact that the Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Jovana Trenčevska, confirms in a statement for Radio Free Europe (RSE) that the proposals are not in the Parliament.
However, the Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archdiocese (MPC - OA) claims that these laws, if adopted, will "open a Pandora's box from which different genders will emerge every day", and in order to prevent such a scenario, it is scheduling a protest for Thursday, June 29. in Skopje.
It will be the first protest of its kind in the history of Macedonian religious communities.
Namely, the initiative of the Orthodox Church was supported, as announced by the MPC - OA, the Islamic Religious Community and the Catholic Church.
Given that the MPC-OA was recognized as independent by the decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in May 2022, this will be the first protest it calls for in its history in general.
The call was followed by a strong campaign on social networks, in which citizens who, according to most research, have a high level of trust in religious communities.
A recent survey by the Societas Civilis Institute for Democracy (IDSC) prepared as part of the Parliamentary Support Program showed that churches are the most trusted institutions in North Macedonia.
What bothers the church?
Until now, there have been various reasons and issues of interest to society, but the church was only forced to protest by laws for the rights of the LGBT community.
"The laws give us a different meaning of the term gender, than the one we are used to," Bishop Jakov Stobiški said on June 27 at a press conference on behalf of the MPC-OA Synod.
"Gender as an attribute of gender, as a social construct of gender, we do not separate it from gender, and analogously, if there are two genders, there are also two genders. These laws bring us a monstrous construction. They opened Pandora's box, so that different genders are created every day , everyone can be whatever they want. It's something we're not used to, we don't like and we don't accept," said the bishop.
Gender identity, gender and sex - where is the difference?
The terms gender identity, gender and sex should not be confused, says Minister of Labor and Social Policy Jovanka Trenčevska in an interview for RSE.
The Law on Gender Equality is under the competence of the Ministry of Labour, and the Law on Civil Registry is under the competence of the Ministry of Justice.
The least that should be done is to introduce confusion in the definition of gender and gender identity, Trenčevska adds.
"Sex is biology, and gender is a social construct. What society considers a role for girls and women and for boys and men should be viewed as such. It is changeable, because society is moving forward with its democratic processes," says the minister.
In the preparation of the draft of the Law on Civil Registry and Gender Equality, examples from the European Union, as well as from the region, were used, because all countries in the surrounding area have laws on gender equality, the minister added.
How far has the legislative proposal come?
Bishop Jakov Stobiški says that the Law on Civil Registry is in the parliamentary procedure, and the law on gender equality is a step closer to it, because, as he said, public debates regarding the law are being organized for the second time in North Macedonia.
However, last year in March, the government withdrew the draft law on civil registry books, in order to have a wider discussion and meet the expectations of the entire society, says Minister of Labor and Social Policy Jovanka Trenčevska.
The draft Law on Gender Equality has not reached the parliamentary procedure because it is in the consultation phase and 18 public hearings have been held so far.
What is the position of the parties?
The bishop says that the protest scheduled by the Church is not directed against anyone, but against the contents of the proposed laws. They could give greater rights to individuals or groups, but this would seriously compromise the rights of the majority.
"It's a dictatorship," says Bishop Jakov.
The minister says that everyone has the right to protest.
"We cannot deny the right, especially to us who fight for human rights," says the Minister of Labor.
She adds that "the truth will come out" and show that the Law on Gender Equality improves the position of women in society.
The ruling parties in North Macedonia, SDSM and DUI, under the influence of the announcement of the protest organized by the church, now leave room for the correction of the texts of the legislative proposals.
Assembly President Talat Dzaferi says that the laws on civil registration and gender equality, as they are, will not receive support from him as a member of the DUI.
"And if it is for Europe, this is the last thing that should be done for Europe," he said on June 26 at a press briefing.
What is proposed in the new law?
The Draft Law on Gender Equality, which has been discussed for almost 10 months, states:
"Gender" refers to the biological and psychological characteristics by which people are defined as female or male;
"Gender" refers to the social characteristics and possibilities associated with being female or male, and to relationships between women and men and boys and girls, as well as relationships between women themselves and relationships between men themselves;
"Gender identity" refers to the inner and individual experience of one's own gender that each person deeply feels about themselves, which may or may not coincide with the gender assigned to them at birth, as well as the personal experience of one's own body and different gender expressions, including name, clothing, speech, mannerisms and more.
In the draft law on birth records, the issue of trans people having a gender identity that does not correspond to the gender registered in birth records is raised.
The proposal envisages that every adult citizen has the right to legal gender recognition and can do so by submitting a request to be filled out at a notary public.
That is, a person will be able to change the gender mark in the civil registry and thus the state will recognize his true gender.
What is the state of LGBT rights in North Macedonia?
In the report of the Directorate for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission for North Macedonia, published on October 13, it is stated that the country is stagnant in terms of realizing LGBT rights.
It states that the promotion of equality and condemnation of hate speech, hate crimes, discrimination and intolerance towards members of this community should be systematic.
The day before the bishop's press conference, the Commission for Protection against Discrimination called on Bishop Stobiški to apologize, because, as the Commission determined, he discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
In public appearances, he has, as stated, expressed humiliating, insulting and degrading attitudes towards transgender people.
If he does not apologize publicly, the Commission will file a request for misdemeanor liability.
Immediately afterwards, he replied that he did not accept their recommendations and that he was ready to be tried, but also for much more.
He did not specify what he meant.
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