‘Give transgender people equality and civil rights’

Islamabad
Equality and civil rights for transgender people in the country was the call given by panellists during a session of the Islamabad Literature Festival at a local hotel on Saturday. The panellists, mostly rights activists, were in agreement that transgender people didn’t enjoy the same level of rights in the country as other citizens did and that they’re harassed, discriminated against and even subjected to violence on the basis of gender.
Besides calling for better public awareness, they also demanded legislation to address the issues concerning transgender people in the country and cultivate a supportive, empowering and tolerant environment for them.
Noted among the panellists were Indian transgender activist, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, Pakistani transgender leader, Almas Bobby and rights activist Hina Jillani.
The session was moderated by women rights activist Farzana Bari. Laxmi Narayan Tripathi said she was proud of her sexuality and that she was a woman, who could put all other women to shame. She said while most ‘hijras’ (transgender people) in India were shown the door by their families, she thanked her parents for accepting her with her anomalies. “I am a ‘hijra’ but have been accepted by my family. They never stopped me from expressing myself,” she said. The transgender activist said transgender people, too, were human beings and therefore, they should be treated fairly. “The people need to go back to the scriptures and read how honoured the transgender community once was. This would make things better and easier for people to accept us unconditionally,” she said.
Almas Bobby said in the absence of parental supervision or family’s protection, most transgender people had limited means of earning a livelihood and did dancing at wedding functions or begged. She said by and large, the lives of transgender people were marked by rejection, stalking, and destitution. Almas Bobby said besides denial of inheritance, lack of healthcare and educational facilities also led the transgender community into being extremely marginalised. She sought public awareness and better legislation for the protection of the rights of her community.
Hina Jillani said Pakistan had legislated to protect the rights of transgender people after the Supreme Court ruled that such people should be officially recognised as a third gender on national identity cards.