Call for protection of rights of transpersons

Trans rights activist discusses challenges being faced by community

RAWALPINDI:

There is a dire need to ensure rights to transgender persons who have the potential to play a positive and constructive role in building a society.

This was the crux of the views expressed at a seminar titled "Transgender Can Play Key Role in Society, If Given Rights," was organised by Rawalpindi Women University (RWU) on Saturday.

The aim of the event was to promote the role of transgender persons and create awareness among students about their rights.

Trans rights activist, Reem Sharif, shared challenges faced by this particular community and their engagements in different segments of society. Sharif informed the students about her hardships faced during student life and on part of her own family, however, with determination and dedication she overcome these problems and has now been actively working for the rights of her gender.

Read: ‘Transpersons can approach Tahafuz centre’

Sharif informed the participants that after a long struggle when she joined the police department, her family and friends started to accept her, hence, encouraging other community members to follow the suit to live a respectable life.

She particularly highlighted the laws that have been enacted by the government to protect the rights of this community. However, she lamented that there still was a long way to go to change mentality of the masses towards transgender persons.

"Our state has done a very good job for our community but still there are some people, who don't accept us as normal human being," she said.

Speaking on the occasion, the Department of Mass Communication’s Head Dr Asma Zahoor said that RMU would welcome transgender students to get an education in the institution. She added that RWU would never feel offended to take transgender students, who definitely would be accepted from the core of heart and would be supported to get an education or engage in other learning activities.

A large number of university students, faculty members, and other staff attended the seminar.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2022.