Transgender Pakistanis - Making ends meet

There are an estimated 500,000 ‘third-gender’ citizens in Pakistan, including cross-dressers, transsexuals, eunuchs, hermaphrodites, and transvestites. In 2012, the Pakistani government recognised the transgender population and a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, ruled that the transgender community is entitled to rights guaranteed in the Constitution to all citizens, including the right of inheritance. Prior to this, as transgenders did not classify themselves as ‘male’ or ‘female’ on official documents, they were barred from basic rights, such as voting. In the general elections of May 2013, five members of the community also contested polls.

Transgenders are misunderstood and maltreated in much of the world because of human ignorance about the medical aspects of this condition.

It has become more difficult now as the society has increasingly grown intolerant. But, all human beings deserve access to basic necessities of life: dignity, means of livelihood, food, shelter, and clothing. Let’s hope a day will come when we, as a society, will be able to provide this access to all segments of our population.

Transgenders used to be able to make a livable earning by performing in weddings, birth ceremonies, and other such happy occasions, when society had a greater level of tolerance, understanding, and the spirit of inclusion.