A father in Vietnam who reacted violently when his two sons told him they wanted to become his daughters has been persuaded by his wife to accept the decision of their children.
Despite their father’s initial fierce opposition, former brothers Nguyen Van Nga and Nguyen Van Chau, from the southern city of Ho Chi Minh, are now living happily as sisters.
The elder sibling, 36-year-old Nga enjoyed wearing dresses and playing with dolls when he was a child, according to the Vietnamese news website Kenh14.
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As he grew older, he realised his psychological gender was not that of a man and told his family he wanted to become a woman.
Their father, Ngoc, was furious.
He locked Nga indoors, cut his hair, tied his legs together to prevent him from going out and beat him multiple times.
Ngoc admitted that he initially hoped the punishment would scare his son into abandoning the idea of becoming a trans woman.
Their mother accepted her son’s choice and sought to persuade her husband to come to terms with it.
Kenh14 reported that Nga ran away from home several times because of his father’s actions.
Afraid of losing Nga, Ngoc eventually accepted his need to become a trans woman.
On seeing what his older, then brother, had done, the younger son Chau, 33, told his parents he also wanted to transition, and they gave him their full support.
“I realised that parental love and tolerance are boundless, and family will always be the strongest support,” Chau told Kenh14.
The brothers went to Thailand for gender reassignment surgery, the cost of which their parents covered.
Ngoc said that when naming his two sons, he hoped they would “live a prosperous life”, and now that they are two daughters they have become his “treasured gems”.
“Every time I hear people praise my two daughters for their beauty, I feel proud of them,” he said.
Today, Nga and Chau earn a living by singing and selling goods online.
Chau says she is now happily married to a man two years younger than herself.
“I’ve had surgery four times, and it caused me great pain. Every night the pain in the wounds was so intense it felt like I was being torn apart,” Chau said.
The now sisters have also expressed the hope that parents of LGBTQ children would provide the support that makes it easier for them to grow up.
Their story has attracted widespread attention on social media.
“These sisters are lucky to have supportive parents. Wishing them all the best,” one online observer wrote on Facebook.
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