Introduction: The Misguided Moral Panic It seems that the guardians of our morality believe a major threat to Pakistan’s existence comes from its transgender citizens. A considerable section of religious scholars is unable to explain how a small community of 10,478 (census 2023) vulnerable souls can pose a danger to some 240 million who constitute the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Selective Outrage and Hypocrisy With their lively imagination, they conjure up all sorts of hypothetical situations that they believe will destroy the moral fiber of the nation. It is strange that those who actually resort to both illegal and immoral actions escape the wrath of our religious scholars. When have they called a conference or uttered a word of condemnation when women are gang-raped, little girls sexually abused and murdered, and thousands of young women trafficked in an illegal multi million-dollar trade with the connivance of the police? Does their silence on such matters indicate a tacit acceptance of these horrific crimes? But when there is talk of the constitutional rights of the transgender community, it throws them into a state of moral panic. Is this not bizarre?
Challenging the Transgender Persons Act In a convention held recently in Karachi, a section of the clergy lost no time in denouncing some provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, that has been in force for the last six years. To put the record straight, it must be mentioned that this Act has been approved by the Council of Islamic Ideology, while the Supreme Court accepted the principle of self-determination in matters of gender identity/expression in 2012 and NADRA has been issuing CNICs in accordance with the court’s ruling.
A Regressive Movement The aim, it seems, is to reverse the few gains the transgender persons had managed to win after a hard struggle. We saw some fundamentalist elements belatedly file a petition in the Federal Shari-at Court challenging the 2018 Act and labeling it un-Islamic. In 2023, the court gave a verdict turning down the self-determination clause and requiring a transgender person’s gender to be identified by a medical board. Transgender persons understandably consider this violate of their dignity.
Facing Accusations and Threats Now, these elements are claiming that they had been ‘deceived’ and that the ‘nation is a victim of a big “fitna”’. These are serious charges against the Supreme Court that had set the ball rolling for the transgender community at a time when internationally the trend had been to reform gender recognition laws. According to TGEU (Transgender Europe), “Self-determination is growing in popularity as a model. Gender self-determination means that a person can change gender marker and name on official documents through an easy administrative process. The change is based on the person’s self-determined gender identity. No third party is required.”
Government’s Response and Conservative Push back Since the government has mercifully appealed against the FSC verdict, these conservative elements are in a fix. They now want the government to withdraw its appeal. They even speak of launching a movement against the law protecting the rights of the transgender community. According to the participants of the convention, the Act is a guise to encourage homosexuality and obscenity.
Violence and Prejudice Against Transgender Individuals These are trying times for the transgender community. A large number of them have been singled out and killed since 2021, when the hate campaign against them reached fever pitch. They feel insecure, and this has hampered their progress. After the passage of the 2018 Act, the rights activists failed to sustain their campaign to create awareness about the transgender community. Social prejudice against them has still to be rooted out. Many religious parties have taken advantage of this situation and are whipping up hatred against non-binary people.
Bindiya Rana’s Perspective I feel sad and call up Bindiya Rana, the pioneer of the transgender movement in Pakistan. She is depressed. “Three transgender persons have been murdered recently,” she tells me. “And do you know who their killers were? They were her own siblings, who have no love for their sister.” Bindiya feels that the Transgender Persons Act needs to be strengthened and not undermined. It should have a provision for punishing parents who abandon a transgender child before s/he reaches adulthood. But here are some conservative elements trying to make life more difficult for them.
Conclusion: A Call for Compassion and Justice I agree and point out that the real danger comes from bigotry and obscurantism. Those born with birth defects cannot hurt this country.
A Message of Hope and Resilience Bindiya remains calm and has no harsh words for her tormentors, who reject her humanity. After all, she is God’s creation, and what she has been denied is compensated by her generosity of spirit and sagacity. Bindiya reminds me of the words of the transgender protagonist of Arundhati Roy’s book, Ministry of Utmost Happiness: “The word Hijra … meant a Body in which a Holy Soul lives.”
