Drug abuse leaves dancer begging in streets

Research shows rise in addiction among transgender persons

LAHORE:

Andalib, a 35-year-old transgender resident of Johar Town, has to beg for food despite being a good dancer.

She reportedly used to charge over Rs100,000 for performing at functions before getting addicted to drugs.

Andalib used to live a luxurious life before the addiction destroyed her career and health.

She said while speaking to The Express Tribune that her misfortune had started when she began smoking charas before dancing at events.

It felt like the best days of her life when she started using the drug, she recalled. "I did not feel bad when young men touched me during dance."

Andalib has now realised that the first day of drug addiction was in fact the beginning of he misfortune

"It became my routine to smoke several hashish cigarettes a day and I started drinking, while my friends also introduced Ice to me. Only five or six years later, I despise looking at the mirror. No one calls me for functions, I have to beg for meals and can buy an injection of drugs with great difficulty," she shared.

According to a study conducted last year by the Herald Scholarly Open Access journal, the trend of drug use among transgender persons is rapidly increasing.

The report pointed out that 20% of the transgender addicts had started using drugs because of a physical disability or illness, 14% for fun and excitement, 14% for sexual pleasure, 8.4% over financial conditions, 7% because of the death of a loved one or end of a romantic relationship,

4% as fashion and 0.5% for hard labour.

According to the research, 20% of the addicts use medicines, including injections, while most of the others are addicted to Ice, followed by charas and heroin.

The convener of the Saathi Foundation, an NGO working for the rights of transgender people and trying to help them get rid of drugs and economic problems, Zanaiya Chaudhry, said the biggest problem for transgender persons is that their relatives do not accept them.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2022.