Hungary has officially defined sex as exclusively male or female in its legal framework.
The Hungarian parliament has amended its constitution to recognize only the binary genders of male and female, a move that contrasts with the broader EU stance on LGBTQ rights.
The constitutional amendment, proposed by the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition, was approved with 140 votes in favor, 21 against, and no abstentions on Monday.
The updated constitution now stipulates that Hungary will protect marriage as the voluntary “union of one man and one woman” and the family as the bedrock of the nation’s survival. Family relationships should be based on marriage or the bond between parents and children. The text specifies, “The mother shall be a woman; the father shall be a man.”
The amendment also formalizes a prohibition on public LGBTQ+ events and prioritizes children’s rights to moral, physical, and spiritual development above all other fundamental rights, except the right to life.
Hungary eliminated legal recognition for transgender individuals in 2020 and, in 2021, modified its child protection laws to restrict the promotion of LGBTQ topics in media, advertising, and educational materials for minors. These actions triggered a response from Brussels, with the European Commission initiating legal proceedings against Budapest, referring the matter to the European Court of Justice, and withholding billions in EU funds due to alleged violations of fundamental rights.
Prior to Monday’s vote, opposition figures and demonstrators attempted to block access to the parliamentary parking garage to prevent lawmakers from the ruling party from entering. During the session, opposition members used air horns to disrupt the proceedings, denouncing the changes as a step back from democracy and an attack on the core principles of the EU, of which Hungary has been a member since 2004.
In reaction to the amendment, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that the international gender network “must leave our children alone.”
Referring to former US President Donald Trump’s decision to end Washington’s promotion of diversity and inclusion, he added: “Now, with the change in America, the winds have shifted in our favor.”
In December, Orban asserted that the West’s 500-year dominance was over and that the “coming century will be the century of Eurasia,” arguing that the strategy of ‘westernizing’ the world had failed and that nations capable of defending their values would prosper.
Last week in Slovakia, another EU member state, a draft constitutional law aiming to enshrine two genders passed its second reading.