A Malaysian court has rejected a request by a woman who underwent a sex-change operation to officially change her identity from a man to a woman.

Ashraf Hafiz Abdul Aziz underwent a complete sex change operation in 2008 in Thailand, but the National Registration Department has rejected her application to change her name on her identity card.

In a decision announced Tuesday, the court ruled that a person's gender is determined at birth.

Transsexuals face widespread prejudice in predominantly Muslim Malaysia, and often cannot find employment.