Mardan residents complain transgender community promoting vulgarity

MARDAN: The traders, religious scholars and notables on Saturday staged a protest against what they argued the alleged ‘objectionable’ activities of transsexuals and blocked a road for traffic.

The protesters gathered at the Charsadda Chowk and blocked it for traffic to record their protest.

The speakers said that transgender have occupied the streets and roads and promoting vulgarity and obscenity in the area. They said that their activities were posing serious threat to the local norms and caused concern among the residents.

They asked the administration and police to take action against the objectionable activities of transgenders.

Later, Deputy Superintended of Police Shah Mumtaz Khan held negotiations with the protesters and assured them to solve the issue within three days.

The protesters dispersed peacefully on the assurance of the DSP and opened the busy square for traffic.

Meanwhile, the transgender community on Saturday staged a sit-in outside the Peshawar Press Club after they were blocked from entering Mardan to hold a protest against the police.

The protest rally and subsequent sit-in was led by office-bearers of TransAction, a civil society organisation for the rights of the transgenders.

The protesting transgenders were holding banners inscribed with slogans against the police.

TransAction provincial president Farzana Jan alleged that Mardan Police, on the directives of District Police Officer (DPO) Mian Saeed, forced the owner of the building to expel them.

Farzana Jan said the police had already registered them in the respective police stations. She added that deputy superintendent of police (DSP), city, called them to his office the other day and told them that the DPO would not tolerate their dance shows.

“We came here to register our protest with the inspector general of police (IGP),” she said and added that they would snatch their rights.

A civil society activist, Qamar Nasim, said that the Mardan police stopped the transgenders from entering Mardan on their way back to their hometown after holding the demonstration against the police.

He said the transgender community was staging a symbolic sit-in outside the press club against the police action.