Marginalised: Caught between two worlds

ISLAMABAD:

Most of us can’t see beyond their smiles and garish makeup. Most of us can’t look beyond their signature clap and distinctive affectations. But the life of a transgender person in Pakistan can be harsh and lonely, full of stigma and sorrow.

Adjacent to the diplomatic enclave of the federal capital, the congested streets of Muslim Colony lead to small brick houses, where the bulk of Islamabad’s transgender community lives.

Sania Munir, a father of three who hails from Sheikhupura, is one of them. Munir, who has a pronounced limp, cannot dance and thus has no choice but to beg for money. When he visits his family in Sheikhupura every few months, he changes his getup, shedding his women’s clothes for those of a man.  “My children have always seen me as a man. I live a double life,” says Munir.

“All we want is acceptance; that our families should just accept us as one of them,” says Munir. “People refuse to sit with us in public transport. It’s agonizing,” he adds.

Nadeem Kashish is the president of She Male Association for Fundamental Rights (SAFFAR), a newly registered NGO. He says that his journey, from being Nadeem to becoming Kashish, was a typical one. “We all are neglected by our families at young ages; we then meet people like ourselves and become a part of the Guru system and that’s a start of a new life for us, where we are accepted by our kind but looked down upon by the rest of the society,” he says.

At the SAFFAR office, dressed in embellished clothes and bright makeup, 23 year old Anjali tells a similar story. She says she was brutally beaten by her brothers for being different and finally found peace when she moved in with others like herself. “They understand me and I am one of them. I’m better off living this life of poverty than being tortured by my family,” says Anjali.

Human rights activist and Director Gender Studies at Quaid-e-Azam University Farzana Bari said that in the last census conducted in Pakistan, transgendered individuals were not included in any category. “The state needs to do more for these individuals. There should be a combined effort of a number of ministries,” she said.

In 2010, chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry ordered that it be ensured that transgendered Pakistanis enjoy the same rights as other citizens in matters of inheritance, employment and election registration. Under these instructions, the gender options for the CNIC include male, female, Khwaja Sara, and also a fourth option of Khunsa-e-Mushkil.

But according to NADRA statistics, only a total of 687 transgendered individuals are registered, and Kashish says there are more transgendered individuals registered with SAFFAR than with NADRA. A total of 2000 transgendered individuals, 300 from Islamabad alone and 1700 from the rest of the country, are registered with them. Kashish says one of their goals is to push for “The protection and rights of Khwaja Saras Bill” drafted by the Social Welfare Department in 2012. The bill was never introduced or endorsed by any political party.

Some of their demands include education and vocational training, campaigns by the government to create awareness amongst the masses, and for political parties to make them a part of the electoral process as party members. “We don’t cast votes and none of us will because there is no politician out there who stepped up to work for our rights as equal citizens,” says a disgruntled Kashish.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2013.