Ours is a society where transgenders are left to live secret and self-confined lives to avoid discrimination and abuse
KARACHI: I have often wondered why there is a hatred for transgenders in Pakistan. Pakistan is a conservative society where transgenders are left to live secret and self-confined lives in order to avoid discrimination and abuse. They are forced to subscribe to a lifestyle that is according to society’s assigned gender roles and expectations. They are not treated as equals. They are often forced by their families to leave their homes and live with other transgenders, often in extreme poverty.
Being transgender by nature is not one’s ‘fault’ — if we can even call it a ‘fault’. Even if educated, they are not given jobs. In school, they are bullied by students and classmates. They are abused on the streets. People taunt them for being who they are. In the views of such bullies, transgenders are people who do not deserve better lives and who are not supposed to live.
We need to realise that these individuals are human beings just like us and deserve the right to be educated and employed with equal status as any other citizen of Pakistan. These individuals have voices that are not heard by anyone. In order to make a change, we need to educate ourselves and begin treating them as human beings. We need to support and communicate the voice of these individuals, fight for their rights and make their lives worth living.
Tooba Nadeem
Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2015.
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