Transgender officers withstand discomfiture

Transgender reveals that behavior of some staff members towards them at service was deeply sarcastic and insulting

LAHORE:

In Pakistan, police officers donning their customary uniform usually command a great deal of homage not only from their subordinates but also from the wider population however, for members of the transgender community scrambling for acceptance in the male-dominated police force, the idea of garnering a miniscule percentage of the same respect is a quixotic daydream.

Despite the Punjab Police claiming to uphold the banner of gender inclusivity and social progression by employing members of the transgender community as on-duty officers at their service centers, a lack of gender sensitization alongside the prevalence of deeply ingrained prejudices against the “otherized” gender means that many intersex personnel valiantly sitting behind official desks are still subjected to the same degree of humiliation and disrespect which defines the lived experiences of countless transgender dancers and sex workers across the country.

Zanaya Chaudhary, a trans rights activist, who was recently employed as a Victim Support Officer at the Punjab Police’s service center, shared the challenges that she encountered as she created acceptance for herself in the government department. “Even though this job has significantly improved my social standing, in the back of my head, I always fear that someone might plot against me and fire me from my job purely because of my gender,” worried Chaudhary, who has been recruited on a contract.

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Zanaya’s concerns were shared by 40 other members of the transgender community, who had been given similar jobs as Victim Support Officers across different districts of Punjab, including at the Liberty Service Center, Data Darbar, and the Lari Adda Khidmat Centre located in Lahore.

For instance another transgender person, who previously served as a Victim Support Officer in Punjab, revealed on the condition of anonymity that the behavior of some citizens, staff members and other officers towards them at the service center was deeply sarcastic, insulting and heartbreaking. “Even today, our people are unwilling to allow a transgender person to even sit among them,” they deplored.

According to Fatima Tahir, a clinical psychologist and hypnotherapist, it will take a long time for our society’s attitude towards the transgender community to undergo a positive transformation.

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“We live in a nation which till date, refuses to accept even women as equal members of the society. Therefore, it is understandable that the transgender community will continue to face various types of harassment at their workplaces,” opined Tahir, who further believed that the persistent exposure to unfair treatment from a young age developed anti-social attitudes among many intersex persons, who avoided interacting with the wider community, thereby ending up in greater isolation.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on the matter, Assistant Superintendent (ASP) Gulberg, Syeda Sheher Bano Naqvi said, “Initially, when women started joining the police force, even they were targeted openly by the male staff and other officers. But with the progression of time, things started to change for the better and the culture of discrimination came to an end. Similarly, now we have incorporated members of the transgender community and hopefully with time they will earn acceptance in the department. We have issued clear and unambiguous instructions to all police stations that they would respond to the call of the transgender Victim Support Officer in the same way as they would to any other on-duty officer.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2024.