Shehzadi Rai submits nomination papers in Karachi council

KARACHI: Transgender rights activist and Gender Interactive Alliance member Shehzadi Rai on Wednesday submitted her nomination papers for the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) city council for one of the seats reserved for transgender persons.Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) nominated her for the transgender persons quota in the city council. This is the first time that the transgender community would have their representation in the colonial-era council.

Shehzadi tweeted that she was very excited to have submitted her nomination papers for the reserved seat for transgender persons. “It is the first time in Pakistan’s history that such an opportunity has been given,” she said, adding that she was grateful to the PPP, its Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and all the party leadership.

Talking to The News, she said she was warmly welcomed by the KMC staff when she went there to submit her nomination papers. “I was not expecting such a warm welcome. They stood up from their chairs and welcomed me. The KMC staff told me that this is for the first time that a transgender person would be part of the council hall.She pledged to make gender-inclusive policies in the KMC city council. “We will work on the city’s issues and formulate such policies which would be inclusive for all genders, including the transgender community.”

The KMC city council has two seats reserved for transgender persons. The PPP is leading the council with the highest number of seats (104), and the Jamaat-e-Islami has 87 seats. Both parties have one reserved seat for transgender persons.JI leader Zahid Askari told The News that his party has submitted the nomination papers of two transgender people, namely Junaid Ali and Shahbaz Siddiq. A total of 246 elected union committees in the city would represent the KMC’s city council, while the elected vice chairmen would represent their respective town municipal councils (TMCs), which are 25 in number.

Inside the city council, 33 per cent of the 246 seats are reserved for women. Youth, non-Muslims and labourers each have five per cent seats, while disabled and transgender persons each have one per cent.After nominating people for the reserved seats, the KMC’s city council would have a total of 367 members, who would then elect a mayor and a deputy mayor by a show of hands.After nominating members for the reserved seats on the same pattern as the KMC’s, each of the TMCs would elect a chairman and a vice chairman from among their total members by a show of hands.