Fellowship launched for transgender community in flood-hit districts

Islamabad : The first-ever National Transgender Fellowship Programme has been launched for the transgender community in 33 flood-affected districts.

The programme, the first-ever in Pakistan, aims at empowering and mainstreaming the transgender community and to ensure their inclusion in flood relief and response. The three-month fellowship programme aims at an inclusive humanitarian response.

The fellowship is part of a national programme that PJN is implementing in all four provinces and federal level titled “Bridging the Barriers - Inclusion of Transgender Community in Flood Relief and Response” in collaboration with NCHR with the support of the Concern Worldwide and USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). The National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) is an independent statutory body created to look into matters pertaining to all forms of violations of human rights within the territorial jurisdiction of Pakistan by virtue of NCHR Act of 2012 headed by Chairperson Rabiya Javeri Agha.

According to Syed Raza Ali, PJN’s CEO and the Convener National Transgender Taskforce on Floods Relief & Response, the commission is working for the empowerment of the most vulnerable communities and part of its mission is to support the vulnerable groups such as the transgender community in the aftermath of natural disasters. It will also help in establishing district transgender protection and an inclusive humanitarian response system by enabling transgender fellows after comprehensive training to play a proactive and leading role during disasters as well as to equip them so that they can effectively coordinate with government and humanitarian organisations to address the needs of the transgender community.

Under this programme, the Peace and Justice Network (PJN) and National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) will enhance the capacity and skills of the transgender community in humanitarian disaster relief response, inclusion, flood relief efforts, and protection through residential training and also through three months of district engagement of the selected Transgender Fellows.

Ali Raza stated that the transgender community in Pakistan is a highly marg­inalised group and has been further marginalised by the devastating flooding that has displaced over 33 million people and left millions deprived of basic needs. Mujeeba Batool and Advocate Faiza Farooq, director PJN, also spoke on the occasion.