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Life is God’s gift and to choose our gender is not a luxury we have at hand. Gender bias has always been a topic of much debate in Pakistan; there are those who hail feminism and those who oppose it. There are areas where male dominance is a societal norm and those where it is protested but seldom are the moments when ‘trans-sexuality’ is highlighted or brought to notice.
The concept that baffles me is the fact that transgenders are thought only to be a good source of entertainment at a child’s birth or weddings. They are asked to dance and sing at such celebratory moments but the thought-provoking question is that is this only what they’re good for? They are looked down on, discriminated, humiliated, harassed and sexually abused for something that is beyond their control.
It is said that any change out of the ordinary is a fact people find hard to undertake but, the stereotypical mindsets and rigidity of our society is exactly what’s standing in the way of our country’s progress. Why do people fail to realize that this fraternity might be capable of a whole lot more, provided they are treated as equals and given equal opportunities to gain the same level of education and chances to grow, be it academically or professionally.
An example of their potential is Riffie Khan who has a double master’s degree from the Shah Abdul Latif University of Shikarpur in economics and political sciences but has suffered tremendously in trying to acquire employment due to gender inequity.
Life is already a struggle for the transgender community and mistreatment at the hands of the government, such as not being facilitated in case of an emergency, having no concrete laws to safeguard their rights, not being able to attain a job and being forced into prostitution, just adds to their misery.
However, an initiative was taken by NADRA in 2012 according to which a ‘third’ gender slot was added to their database on the bases of which transsexuals could acquire a nationality and the efforts of individuals such as Muniba Mazari in utilizing this manpower is truly commendable.
The TG community has always paid a high price for being “different” and it is high time they were treated as fellow human beings who have all the right to live a healthy normal life for, in my opinion, they are an undiscovered workforce that may benefit our country in various ways if only more acceptance and acknowledgment is attributed towards them.
