With chiseled features and a broad face, Fatima Maleh always looked different from other girls. She felt different too— she never dreamed of a knight in shining armor taking her away on a white horse. She also never dreamed of becoming a mother.

Fatima instead, preferred to play football with other young boys. “I was more brilliant than the boys, but my older brother used to beat and threaten me in order not to play again with the boys,” Fatima remembered. 

With chiseled features and a broad face, Fatima Maleh always looked different from other girls. She felt different too— she never dreamed of a knight in shining armor taking her away on a white horse. She also never dreamed of becoming a mother.

Fatima instead, preferred to play football with other young boys. “I was more brilliant than the boys, but my older brother used to beat and threaten me in order not to play again with the boys,” Fatima remembered. 

But Fatima felt more like the other boys than her brother could ever understand—a feeling that has accompanied Fatima her entire life.

“I did not feel like a normal girl. I was more masculine than feminine in the way I walked and my dresses couldn’t hide this reality. When I reached puberty, I became more confused than ever,” she recalled in a husky voice. “I don’t know what happened to me. I am not a female that has breasts and a menstrual cycle and I am not a man who is capable of having an affair with a woman.” 

Born this way

The topic of transsexuals has long been a taboo but like many contentious issues since the revolution in 2011, it has become a subject in media outlets. This is due in part to the courage of people like Fatima—now legally Muhammad Ali Maleh— in speaking out about his story.

Fatima was raised in Tataouine, in southern Tunisia, in a conservative, male-dominated society. Fatima’s father did not realize that his newborn baby suffered from a congenital defect that left Muhammad neither a male nor a female and registered the baby as a female with the name of Fatima. Fatima’s parents, for fear of society’s response or because of a lack of awareness, did not take their baby to thorough medical examinations.

As the years went by Fatima suffered physical and psychological turmoil. She left school at an early age and spent many reclusive years inside her house. Finally, she decided to take the first of many chances.

“I went to Tunis when I was nineteen years old but I did not think at that time of speaking about my secret. I only wanted to free myself of this terrible psychological barrier. I decided to indulge myself in a new experience as a woman.  Through football, I found a new phase in my life.”

Fatima submitted her application to the Tunisian female team and was accepted without a medical examination. Fatima became recognized nationally as well as internationally, and went on to play for Tunisia as well as for United Arab Emirates.

“I was always afraid that my teammates would notice the physical differences between me and them. I intentionally distanced myself in order not to let them see me when I changed my clothes.” 

“My success was because of my endurance and my physical strength, which made me one of the best female players on Tunisia’s female team.  Then I was invited to participate and play with one of the UAE teams and I played for many years without letting anyone know that there were differences between me and all the other girls.”

From Fatima to Muhammad Ali

While playing football Fatima lived with a Tunisian family that treated her like a daughter. Fatima fell in love with one of the daughters from the family. “It was not a forbidden love,” Fatima said, “It was the love of a man who wants to marry his beloved girl.” These feelings pushed Fatima to speak out about the secret she had been hiding for years and when Fatima became Muhammad Ali.

“I found myself a man who loved the girl of his dreams, but a man cannot marry the girl he loves if he is dressed in women’s clothes and when his identity card says that he is a female! This is why I decided, without any hesitation, to rescue my soul and reform this malformation, which has accompanied me my entire life.” 

Fatima underwent lengthy medical and psychological tests and at the end she was able to get an acknowledgement from specialists that she is more of a man than of a woman.   “After this phase, I started to regain my manhood which was stolen from me on paper and the court issued its historic ruling in March. I changed all my official documents from female to male and my name was changed from Fatima to Muhammad Ali.”

My manhood is more important than anything else

Muhammad Ali not only focused on changing his sex in official documents but also in correcting the malformation of his reproductive organs. Surgery however is very expensive. By speaking out about his unfamiliar story in the media, Muhammad Ali hopes the attention will help him collect the money he needs to undergo sexual reassignment surgery. 

After a radio interview President of the Tunisian Football Union gave Mohammad Ali 8,000 Tunisian dinars (US $4,780) as well as a monthly salary of approximately 320 Tunisian dinars (US $191). Mouhammad Ali hopes to soon travel to a European country to undergo a surgery to change the appearance of his reproductive organs in order to have sexual relationships with a woman in the future.

But publicity has also had its down side. “I am a man and I am not afraid of anybody, despite all those odd and deadly looks I see in the eyes of people.”

“It is a matter of living a decent life and I must strive so I can be worthy of living my life.  It is for this reason that I decided to take up the challenge and face the truth without fear or shame. I wanted to be a man as I always dreamed to be. Manhood is completed only with marriage and reproduction.”