We are living in the era of the 21st century where it is believed that the availability of constitutional and fundamental human rights is common. But still, the minorities in the world are fighting their battle of existence. Transgenders are considered the common enemy of every society.
In Pakistan, a transgender named Faiz Ullah went to the court for justice. She challenged the Punjab Public Service Commission’s eligibility criteria where only females and males were allowed to apply for jobs. Though she won the case whereas the question raised here when the legislation was passed years ago why she needed to sue the Punjab Public Service Commission to entertain her job application. The Transgender Rights Protection Act has already been passed but the applicability of these laws is highly questionable.
The precedent set by the high court has directly challenged their existence which shows that they should either be labeled as male or female. they cannot have their distinct identity.
It states that the transgender should be admitted with the gender he/she chooses that should be either male or female. Every transgender who is above 18 can get an identity card, birth certificate, driving license, passport, etc from the Nadra office with their identity (male or female) as according to the law of 2000. This law directly snatched their identity and questioned their existence.
We have witnessed the molestation and violation of the right of life of female transgenders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the humiliating treatment of transgender by hospital staff, the attack on trans Sumbal in the northwestern province of Pakistan. A 22-year old Ayesha stated that the police did not let her in to make a complaint against a mob who were threatening her and alleging her for spreading vulgarity in the area. The police while acting in contradiction with the duty assigned to them, joined hands with the molesters mocked the lady transgender, and humiliated her. A 26-year old Arzu who eloped with her male friend to get rid of her family who had forced her into sex work got killed by unidentified people. I can count many such incidents. These are some of the cases which got registered. There must be several cases that aren’t registered but are taking place daily.
What can we expect from the society where the authorities and justice-providing institutions are involved in violating and exploiting the human rights of the transgender.
Despite the legislation passed by the parliament and the successful litigation that ensued thereafter the discrimination against transgender remains a stark reality. Although there are general provisions present in all Pakistan, domestic law including the fundamental rights safeguard against discrimination based on one gender present in the constitution, the world, and lived realities, surrounding transgender in Pakistan is in shamble.
