• Nicola Sturgeon, the face of Scotland’s independence movement for the past eight years.
• The bill, hailed as a watershed moment by transgender rights activists.
• Sturgeon has vowed to sue the British government.

Nicola Sturgeon, the face of Scotland’s independence movement for the past eight years, has announced her intention to resign, following criticism of her push to make it easier for people to legally change genders.

Sturgeon made the announcement during a news conference at her official residence in Edinburgh on Wednesday, saying that knowing when to make way for someone else is part of serving well.

“In my head and in my heart I know that time is now,” she told reporters. “That it’s right for me, for my party and my country.”

Sturgeon, 52, has been the leader of Scotland since 2014, when Scots narrowly voted to stay in the United Kingdom.

While the referendum was billed as a once-in-a-generation decision on independence, Sturgeon and her Scottish National Party have advocated for a new vote, claiming that Britain’s exit from the European Union had altered the playing field. The government of the United Kingdom has refused to allow a second referendum.

Scotland’s first female leader said she struggled with the decision to leave and that it was “not a reaction to short-term pressures.”

“Of course, the government is dealing with difficult issues right now, but when is that not the case?” she asked.

The announcement surprised political observers given her strong support for both independence and legislation making it easier for people in Scotland to legally change genders.

The bill, hailed as a watershed moment by transgender rights activists, would allow people in Scotland aged 16 and up to change the gender designations on identity documents through self-declaration, eliminating the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

While the Scottish parliament approved the legislation, the British government blocked it because it would cause problems for authorities in other parts of the United Kingdom, where a medical diagnosis is required before individuals can transition legally.

Sturgeon has vowed to sue the British government, claiming that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration made a “significant error” by vetoing the legislation.

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