Emotional student comes out to Obama at town hall in London
LONDON -- In an emotional moment, a student in London told U.S. President Barack Obama they identified as non-binary, and challenged the president to do more for transgender people.
Maria Munir, 20, welled up in tears at the "town hall" style meeting as they said they hadn't told their parents about their identity.
Even getting the chance to address Obama had been difficult, because at the start of the question-and-answer session he said he would take questions alternating between men and women.
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"I'm from a Pakistani Muslim background which inevitably has cultural implications and I know that in North Carolina, people are having to produce birth certificates to go to the toilet," Munir said.
"In the UK we don't recognise non-binary people under the equality act ... I wish yourself and [UK Prime Minister] David Cameron would take us seriously as transgender people and, perhaps you could elucidate, what you can do to go beyond what has been accepted by the LGBTQ rights movement, in including people who fit outside the social norms?"
Obama commended Munir on their bravery. But he said that he didn't have the power to overturn state laws, unless a federal law is passed.
"With the Congress I have, that's not likely to happen," he said.
He said he couldn't speak for Cameron but that he thought he was "ahead of the curve" on LGBT issues.
Munir thanked their supporters on Twitter.
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The student told Sky News after the meeting that it had been incredibly exciting to ask the president a question, but they were disappointed with his answer.
"I felt that as someone who has eight months to establish his legacy once and for all, in order to be the face of change, he really needs to start doing something about transgender rights," Munir said.
Answering other questions at the town hall meeting, Obama urged the students to "reject pessimism and cynicism" and take a longer, more optimistic view on history.
The town hall meeting was just one part of a very busy trip to London for Obama -- perhaps his last trip to the UK as president.
On Friday, he had lunch with the Queen, and dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge -- and Prince George was even allowed to stay up 15 minutes after bedtime to greet the president and First Lady Michelle Obama. (Obama said at the town hall meeting that Prince George is "adorable," in case anyone was wondering.)
On Saturday morning, Obama visited The Globe Theatre in London, where they were marking the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. He watched actors perform scenes from Hamlet.
Obama also met with opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and fit in some golf with Cameron.
British political circles were still chattering Saturday about Obama's remarks on the upcoming UK referendum on European Union membership. Obama said that Britain would be at "the back of the queue" for any U.S. trade deals if it left the EU.
His comments angered Leave campaigners who accused him of just reading remarks Downing Street had prepared for him, a charge Cameron denied.
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Topics Barack Obama
Liza Hearon was the Deputy Editor for Mashable UK. Liza started her career in journalism writing about punk bands for a 'zine in Florida, and her wanderlust has led her to work for news organisations in Russia, Japan and now London. Prior to joining Mashable, she was the European homepage editor for the Wall Street Journal. Liza loves podcasts, karaoke and really, really spicy food.
