Pakistan

The plight of the Khwaja Siras

The persecution of Khwaja Siras will persist as long as society endorses their treatment as second-class citizens.

Editorial November 14, 2010

Though the November 11 report in this newspaper on Khwaja Siras — a catchall term for the population of transsexuals and transgender people in the country — being denied medical checkups may not shock the average reader, who is used to much more violent news regarding their harassment, it is a telling illustration of how difficult life is for this community. The court has summoned the chiefs of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Hospital, Civil Hospital and Nadra on a complaint filed by Khwaja Siras from the Gender Interactive Alliance saying that they are being denied medical care. It is distressing that public hospitals, which exist to serve citizens, should reject patients merely on the grounds of their gender. Difficult as it is for ordinary citizens to get a response from state institutions, it is infinitely more gruelling for a community which faces rejection, ridicule and physical abuse on a daily basis.

Despite the media spotlight on them following Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s interest in their welfare, not much has changed. Action on the court’s 2009 injunction that they be issued national identity cards specifying their gender as ‘other’ has been sluggish, mainly because of the insistence that they be medically examined to determine their gender. This has been opposed by many in the community since it can potentially stigmatise them further. Without ID cards, employment options for these eunuchs are few and they carry on working in degrading conditions.

The persecution of Khwaja Siras will persist as long as society endorses their treatment as second-class citizens. Recent developments such as the employment of Khwaja Siras as tax collectors points to a welcome shift in attitudes but more needs to be done. The only thing more worthy of condemnation than a state which does not care for its citizens is a society which does not care for all its members.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2010.

COMMENTS (5)

Syeda Zunaira Zubair | 14 years ago | Reply There should be rights for them as well. It's really sad how these eunuchs are humiliated and openly rejected. I feel for them :(

Sidrah Moiz Khan | 14 years ago | Reply Are all of them real? Please answer this question. Cuz in my knowledge, klienfelter's syndrome is a rare disorder. Am I right?

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TL | 14 years ago | Reply First they abused them, now they use them. For the above comments, I would like to say that you can't change this all at once. 70% of the illiterate section of our society needs to know who are Khwaja Siras and why are they born like that.What is their role in Islam? They would be surprised to know this and would be deeply embarrassed to call themselves Muslims.

Nabeel Khan | 14 years ago | Reply While I applaud the movement of transgendered individuals into the tax collection unit, however the reason they have been picked up for the task is the very idea behind which they become object of ridicule. People will pay taxes because they don't want to be embarrassed by a transgendered person which will open the latter up for more fun and ridicule at their expense.

amirbilwany | 14 years ago | Reply our society is built on machismo.it's not just the males in our society who continue to behave as cavemen,it's the women be it in the form of mothers,sisters or wives who continue to perpetuate this violent,aggressive,vindictive,bloodthirsty male role model of ours.wives taunt their husbands with calls of "namard' & that line with the chooriyan pehn lo BS. any attempts at behaving like civilised gentlemen is met with calls by both genders of being gay or effeminate. As long as this maula jatt mentality continues to be in vogue,where mardangi has to be proven at every chance gotten,the rotten state of affairs in our ISLAMIC republic of pakistan will continue.

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