Transgender rights

Transgender people are amongst the most neglected groups within our country. They are plagued with problems such as workplace discrimination, family issues, unjust treatment and dealing with insults and violence. More often than not, they are denied education, jobs, healthcare facilities and identity documents. There is a lot more to their seemingly happy faces and amusing dances. There is an estimated 500,000 ‘third-gender’ citizens in Pakistan and it was only in 2012, that this community was given a few legal rights. But to their dismay, these rights are only guaranteed on paper. So just like that, everyday another transgender baby is born and given away cold-heartedly by his/her parents, raised in a cheap brothel, taught to dance and sing for money and forced to resort to prostitution.
What we all do not understand is that not conforming to our gender labels does not mean that a person is somehow stripped off of any talent, skill, the ability to think, or the right to work . What we need to accept is that they are human beings at the end of the day. They deserve to live a normal life just like us, even if our justice system does not seem to think so.
Isma Shafqat Raja
Islamabad