Transgender community voice disappointment over budgets

Community urges government to have a special column for eunuchs in CNICs.

The transgender community in the country voiced their disappointment over the current fiscal year's federal and provincial budgets, complaining that they had given nothing to the Khwaja Sirahs in the country.

Talking to reporters, the Sialkot based Guru Iqbal alias Reema said these budgets were proving nothing more than a jugglery of words for the transgender community as well.

“No government has yet thought for our welfare,” she protested.

Reema urged the government to also focus on an early and amicable solution to the prolonged problems of the eunuch community in the country. She said Khwaja Sirahs have also been suffering some social problems, adding that people of any locality often refuse to put their house on rent to any transgendered person and they were often discriminated against when they would go out.

“We are humans too,” said Reema. “We also have sentiments and feelings. We also have a right to be friends with others, we also need love. We also seek welfare packages by the government being citizens of Pakistan. We should also be given due respect in society at every place because we deserve it.”

Reema also urged the federal government to affix a special column for those identifying as a third gender in the Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) being issued by NADRA, in addition to allocating places for them in local graveyards for their burial. She also said that the government should also pass some effective rules for saving their community from harassment.

Reema hailed the move of having a survey for the registration of the third gender in the country on the orders of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. She said that this was the first time  someone has seriously thought about the welfare and registration of their community across the country.