Police to get transgender rights training

To improve their attitude towards them and safeguard their rights

ISLAMABAD: To improve their attitude towards them, police in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi capital will soon receive training to ensure that the rights of people who are transgender are respected and protected. This was disclosed by an official of the Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) on Thursday.

Talking to the media in Islamabad, the official said that the ministry has written to the Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Faisal Rana requesting that police ensure basic that the rights of people who are transgender are respected and protected.

She conceded that cases of violence against people who are transgender are unreported; therefore, accurate figures of crimes committed against them are difficult to ascertain.

The official that MoHR has appreciated the CPO for safeguarding the rights of people who are transgender and for ensuring their safety. She said that the ratio of harassment of people who are transgender decreased in neighbouring Islamabad after the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Transgenders' Rights Act was implemented there.

She further demanded of provincial governments implement similar laws for the safety and protection of people who are transgender.

Meanwhile, MoHR’s first employee who is a transgender, Ayesha, has demanded that the authorities set up separate jail cells for people who are transgender so that their rights and respect can be maintained even when held in police lockups.