How a Hasidic Rabbinical Student Became a Transgender Rights Activist

Abby Stein, 25, was raised in an Orthodox Hasidic family in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where she only spoke Yiddish and studied to become a rabbi. When she was 18, her parents arranged her marriage; later, her wife gave birth to their son. After learning English, she divorced her wife and left her faith. In 2014, she enrolled at Columbia University, where she began her gender transition. Today, she is a transgender rights activist.