What are the plans for gender reforms in Scotland?
Legislation that aims to make it easier for people in Scotland to change their legally recognised gender has divided opinion.
MSPs voted to pass the controversial Gender Recognition Bill by 86 votes to 39, though it could still be blocked by the UK government.
Scottish government wants to simplify and speed up the existing process by which people can obtain a gender recognition certificate - the legal recognition of a trans person's "acquired" gender.
At present, people apply to a UK gender recognition panel and typically must present a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. 
fined by the NHS as being caused by a "mismatch" between their biological sex (whether they were born physically male or female) and their gender identity (the way in which they see and describe themselves).
Applicants need to provide two medical reports, one from a specialist detailing their diagnosis and another listing any treatment or surgery they may have had to change their sexual characteristics.
must also prove they have lived full-time in their acquired gender for at least two years - for example showing they have used a different name in official documents, or changed their gender on their driving licence or passport - and swear an oath that they intend to continue for the rest of their lives.
What reforms are being proposed and why have they proved so controversial?
Scottish government argues that the current process is too difficult and invasive, and causes distress to an already marginalised and vulnerable minority group. 
Its proposal would see applications handled by the Registrar General for Scotland, rather than the UK panel.
No diagnosis or medical reports would be required, and the period in which applicants need to have lived in their acquired gender would be cut to three months.
One of the most controversial proposals is to lower the minimum age that someone can apply from 18 to 16 - although an amendment to the bill that has been backed by the government means that 16 and 17-year-olds would need to have lived as their acquired gender for six months rather than three.
Anyone wanting to change their legal gender will still need to swear an oath about remaining this way for life - with it being a criminal offence to make a false declaration or application - and there would be a three-month "reflection period" before a certificate was issued.
In theory, only a small number of people would be directly affected by any reforms, with the NHS estimating that transgender people make up about 0.5% of the population. 
Ireland made similar changes in 2015 and had granted an average of 115 applications per year up to 2020.
However, some campaigners are concerned that allowing anyone to "self-identify" as a woman could impact on the rights women have fought for decades to secure, and which are themselves enshrined in equalities law.
re are also concerns about access to women-only spaces and services, including hospital wards and refuges. 
While attitudes towards gender may have become more fluid, many things in society are still binary - from changing rooms to elite sporting events to prisons - and some are wary about changing this.
relatively narrow issue of the certification process has become a focal point for a broader debate about gender identity and politics. And this debate has become hotly contested, in particular online.
first minister has acknowledged that some people have "genuinely held concerns" about the plans - while arguing that others have latched onto the issue to spread transphobia.
She has described herself as "a lifelong feminist" but said it is "really important" to protect and enhance the rights of trans people.
And Ms Sturgeon has repeatedly insisted that trans rights and women's rights need not clash.
SNP leader has also hit out at transphobia within her own party.
Equalities and Human Rights Commission - which initially backed the Scottish government's proposals as a "simplified system" - has now urged ministers to rethink the plans and said that the existing system provides "the correct balanced legal framework that protects everyone".
Several prominent SNP politicians - including government ministers Kate Forbes, Ash Regan and Ivan McKee - signed a letter in 2019 urging the government not to "rush" the proposals, arguing that "changing the definition of male and female is a matter of profound significance".
In October, Ms Regan quit as a government minister ahead of a debate on the bill, saying that her conscience would not allow her to support the plans.
Author JK Rowling has become one of the most prominent voices in the debate, saying that reading about the Scottish government's proposals had "triggered" her due to memories of being sexually assaulted.
Ms Rowling said her life had been "shaped by being female" and argued that "erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives".
uthor, who lives in Edinburgh, posted a picture of herself with a T-shirt describing Ms Sturgeon as a "destroyer of women's rights" in support of a protest against the changes outside the Scottish Parliament.