Kiran Fatima
ISLAMABAD
On November 14, 2016 a transgender,
again, was made a victim of brutality in Sialkot. For the most part, gangs
operating in many parts of the country collect extortions from the members of
these communities; failing to pay up results in physical assaults and rape.
The incident came into the
limelight after the video of the beating went viral on the social
media. Which was followed by a video of a transgender
Julie, begging the government for protection and appealing for the formation of
laws for their rights and security.
Amidst lack of laws and government
cooperation, the tormented transgenders prefer to flee to some other part of
the country. Left to their own device, a transgender run organization, SAFFAR
(Shemale Association For Fundamental Rights), has been set up by a transgender,
Nadeem Kashish, to fight for the rights and to provide shelter to the distressed
transgenders.
The assaulted transgenders, Julie
and Shinaya have also taken shelter at SAFFAR after escaping from Sialkot.
Others are also reported to seek shelter there in times of distress, but this
organization is not funded. Hence they have to make ends meet.
On Thursdays Nadeem Kashish also
hosts a two hour radio show
at Power FM99, in an endeavor to address and educate the masses about the
social stigma around transgenders, and provide insight that is beyond the
claps, beggary, and dances.
“There are two major divisions
amongst transgenders. One, the direct descendants of the transgenders from the
Mughal Era. The other are from the ordinary families. The beautiful ones become
sex workers while others are left to beg on the streets,” explained Kashish.
“It’s a cruel joke of nature. When
they aren’t accepted by their own families, and are disowned due to their odd
behaviors, who would fight for them when their own families don’t own them,
there’s no psychological or emotional help available for them either, leave
alone legal coverage,” said Ismat Aman, a lawyer based in Peshawar.
“But we need some laws and
representation in the parliament. We understand issues in our communities and
we need to help in policy making related to us. Plus, there are elections
coming up, and they still haven’t made a separate gender category for us.
Lawmakers should ‘at least’ pass a law that would let the transgenders get
education till 18 years,” added Kashish.
Officials provided a counter
narrative that members of this community are not altogether innocent. They have
to run their businesses and consent to anything for money. But they are not
given any training or shelter to support themselves either. Government should
set up shelter homes for them.
The lack of awareness and failed
attempts to make peace with these fellow humans is an eye-opener. In this part
of the world, they have transitioned from struggling to revive their former
status to finding a respectable human status in the social spheres.
