Activists speak up against Swat police forcing transgender community to leave homes

Police say they issued the order following residents' complaints against the community

PESHAWAR: The Swat police forcing members of the transgender community to vacate the area is "illegal'' and ''unconstitutional'', rights activists said on Monday demanding that the government should rescind the move.

On April 17. the Swat police, acting on residents' complaints, had issued an order telling members of the transgender community living in the area to leave within two days or face action.

The Swat district police officer had warned that if they did comply with the order, they would be booked and forced to leave the district too.

At a press conference held in Peshawar, rights activists said if the government did not rescind the order, the matter would be taken to the Peshawar High Court under Article 199 of the Constitution. ''The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) police routinely harass the community in various districts,'' said Farzana Jan, the president of the Trans Alliance.

Jan added that the Swat administration was not the first to issue such orders. Similar orders were issued in Nowshera, Mardan and Bannu in the past too.



The activists said the National Commission for Human Rights chairman had also written a letter to the K-P chief secretary stating that there were no legal or constitutional grounds to order people to leave their homes.

Preeti Payal, a transgender activist from Swat, said the members of her community in her hometown were living miserable lives as they were discriminated against when it came to employment, housing and access to social services.

''We have not committed any crime. Our only crime is that we are poor and have no one to help us,'' Payal added. ''We don't have access to even the basic needs of life and if we are vacated where will we live?"

Qamar Naseem, a transgender rights activist, said the constitution guaranteed that all citizens were free to move in and out of different areas of the country without any restriction.

''The police action is against the policies of the K-P government which has taken steps to empower the transgender community,'' he added.



Naseem said the police profiling of the community was unacceptable and action must be taken by the K-P police chief.

Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network Coordinator Taimur Kamal said even if a transgender person found a job, it did not last because they faced harassment and ill-treatment at work.

He added that instead of vacating transgender people from their homes, there was a need to develop a better understanding of their problem and create social support for them.

Swat DSP Habib Ullah Khan told The Express Tribune that police had received several complaints from residents against the "immoral activities" of transgender community forcing them to issue the notice.

"Not all, but some of them [transgender people] are involved in activities that residents consider against the norms of the society," he added.

"The situation is already volatile in the district so it was necessary to take strict action against anyone involved in unethical activities."