Transgender network becomes a reality, at long last

Islamabad: Violence, poverty, human rights violations, socioeconomic inequality, lack of education, and insufficient legal services are some of the barriers faced by the transgender community every day. A community that has survived for years without collaboration and coalition came together Friday for the launch of ‘Pakistan Transgender Empowerment Association: Voice of Social Change and Equity’ at a World AIDS Day event.

The event started with Ms. Bubbli and Ms. Aisha welcoming the participants of the Transgender Network (TGN) and giving a brief on the objectives, mission and way forward of the association. “A transgender individual in Pakistan faces multilayer social and legal discrimination. It is an honor for the Wajood Organization to launch this network in order to spread awareness and raise voice for transgender community rights and issues at the national level. It is time for us to develop a collaborative network which will benefit the community, now and for generations to come. The community understands its needs better than others and can work better for its rights,” Bubbli said.

Highlighting the vision of TGN, Bubbli said, “We aim to mobilize and unite the gender and sexual minorities for the development of best practices and support policies nationwide that promote better initiatives, health system research mechanisms, right to education, living with dignity and fostering respect for transgender, intersex, and gender-variant people in all cultural settings. We believe that transgender people have the resilience, brilliance, and power to transform society.”

The Programme Manager of the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) Dr. Baseer Achakzai, “NACP is the prime focal point for provision of across the board HIV treatment and care services without prejudice. According to the latest IBBS survey, Pakistan has an estimated transgender population of almost 36,000 in 23 big cities. Transgender people are one of the groups most affected by HIV and are 49 times more likely to be living with HIV than the general population.”

Across the world, transgender people experience high levels of stigma, discrimination, gender-based violence and abuse, marginalization and social exclusion. This makes them less likely or able to access services, damages their health and wellbeing, and puts them at higher risk of HIV. “More targeted prevention approaches are needed in combination with increased welfare and employment opportunities to address the specific needs of transgender people. Each individual in the country including transgender people have the right to healthcare services including HIV treatment and care without any discrimination. Only by doing so will we be able to address the gap between registered and huge estimated number of HIV cases in Pakistan,” Dr. Achakzai stated.

WHO Representative Dr. Assai Ardakani hoped the initiative would bring prosperity in the life of TGs in Pakistan but cautioned that them saying, “You need to raise your voices and get them heard by those who can support you, in order to get empowered. Community must advocate for universal access to health, social services, education, employment, and rule of law and accountability mechanisms and the people should understand that Transgender people are part of this community. Practicing of safer sex should be advocated within the transgender community. I believe that like others, you should be aware of disease transmission and we hope to reach a day that there is not a single transgender suffering from AIDS.”

Dr. Assai stated that the attitude towards marginalized communities is changing – now various education institutes e.g., Allama Iqbal Open University is offering free education to the transgender community in Pakistan. The judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, declaring TGs as full and equal citizens of Pakistan, is a big milestone in the history of the country. “The WHO acknowledges the health needs of TG community and when it comes to HIV/STIs, testing and treatment facilities should be availed by TGs to get their status tested and to avail a wide range of HIV prevention services which can be available to help them maintain a life without HIV. WHO strongly advocates that all sort of stigma and discrimination, within or outside the health system, should be recognized and mitigated,” he added.

Country Head of UNAIDS Dr. Mamadou Lamine Sakho pointed out that the reinvigoration of HIV prevention among key populations requires domestic investment in tools that can empower them to raise their voice for their rights, and this association will definitely be one such platform which will help strengthen the voice and agency role of transgender community. “Pakistan is championing the response to HIV and making progress towards protecting the rights of transgender community. This association will help further strengthen the capacities of this community to access universal health coverage and HIV testing treatment, care and social support services.”

The event was one of a series of activities organized in connection with the forthcoming World AIDS Day on December 1, 2017.