Empowerment: Trans community thrilled by representation on local bodies

25 reserved seats for the trans community in all 25 towns of Karachi

KARACHI:

The idea of getting representation on an elected body of the country seems to have thrilled the trans community. It will be the first time the community’s representatives will vote to elect the mayor of the metropolitan city.

According to the estimates of the Gender Interactive Alliance (GIA), there are roughly 19,000 registered trans persons in Karachi alone.

One percent seats have been reserved for the trans community in the Sindh Local Government Amendment Act, giving them an opportunity to play a role in the local government set-up of 31 districts of the province.

Despite a vigorous drive by the ruling PPP in Sindh, the trans community leaders are clueless about the exact number of seats available to them in the local governments.

“There are a total of 25 reserved seats for the transgender community in all 25 towns of Karachi,” said Shehzadi Rai. “We have two seats in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) that will elect the city’s mayor.”

Bindiya Rana, President of the Gender Interactive Alliance, told The Express Tribune that they are expecting a meeting with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to confirm the exact number of seats across Sindh. “We will then send names of our representatives as per the number of seats,” Rana said. “We have several members of the community who aspire to be part of the LG system,” she claimed.

The main political parties, including PPP, MQM-Pakistan and PTI, are serious about bringing the trans community into the political process, according to the community leaders.

Looking at the complicated political process and threats faced by the trans community, another activist Shehzadi Rai said: “It seems hard to convince our people to submit the forms.”

Shehzadi Rai, who is also one of the organizers of the Moorat March, has sent her nomination to the PPP’s divisional leadership. “I will be the part of the KMC that elects the city mayor,” Rai said.

“It is very good news that our representatives will have their own voice at an appropriate place,” Rana said. “It is even good for Pakistan that the trans people are being given their due rights,” she added.

The trans persons will be required to present a Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC), identifying them as ‘X’ gender, but interestingly most trans people living in Karachi do not have CNICs confirming their gender.

“This is the main challenge we are facing right now,” Rai said. “There is fear among the community after objections were raised on the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018. The majority of us do not have these cards.”

Rana, however, seems optimistic. “The law is there and the state has to accommodate us,” she said, adding that it was a challenge for the federal government now. “The provincial assembly has passed the bill and seats have been reserved,” she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2023.