Transgender Abuse in Pakistan
Transgender Abuse in Pakistan
Transgender abuse is a common problem in South
Asian society. Unfortunately, in the subcontinent people do not treat queer
people equally. It is due to the low literacy rate in these countries. Queer
protection will not be guaranteed by making laws, long-term planning would bear
fruitful results. Therefore, education is immensely important to raise
awareness in society.
According to the data 68 transgender people have
been killed since 2015, and 1,500 were sexually assaulted in multiple incidents
in Pakistan.
In India, queers are not respected in society, and
bulling them is common in marketplaces. It is normal to harass them, however,
the situation in India looks satisfactory when we compare it to contraries.
Supreme court of India stated in a verdict that
“Gender identity, in our view, is an integral part
of sex and no citizen can be discriminated against on the ground of gender
identity, including those who identify as the third gender. We, therefore,
conclude that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity
includes any discrimination, exclusion, restriction, or preference, which has
the effect of nullifying or transposing equality by the law or the equal
protection of laws guaranteed under our Constitution. (p. 73)”
In Pakistan Supreme Court of Pakistan declared that
trans peoples were equal to normal Pakistani citizens in 2010. This declaration
of equality should have entitled trans peoples to equal job opportunities, and
education, and exempted them from discrimination. However,
But the law does not specify who may be sentenced.
In the same way, no fear in society protects queer people. We see transgender
violence every day, particularly in the rural area of the country.
The 2017 Housing and Population Census counted
10,418 transgender people in the country. Trans people in Pakistan are often
disowned by their families and live together in communities, usually led by a
guru. Exclusion from education means that 42% of the community is illiterate,
and employment is heavily focused on three specific jobs. According to a 2016
survey, 51% of trans people’s overall income comes from dancing
(including toli, ceremonial dances at weddings and births), 15%
from sex work, and 12% from begging.
Newspaper Dawn interviewed the association leader of a transgender who said “transgender persons conveyed their complaints about life threats to the relevant authorities, but the people were so influential that no one bothered to take action against them. She said the province had around 50,000 transgender persons but many of them didn’t disclose their identity due to family restrictions and lack of security”
Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2022
Incidents
Human rights activist Shama
On 22 January 2018, Shama, 18, was kidnapped then
gang-raped in the Gulbahar neighborhood of Peshawar by nine men in retaliation
against her advocacy for the human rights of the transgender community. The
assailants threatened to shoot her if she disclosed the incident to anyone or
if she participated in any more demonstrations. Shama filed a complaint with
the police but so far, a First Incident Report (FIR) has not been lodged, no
arrests have been made and no medical examination has been conducted for Shama.
- Transgender activist Gul Panra
In 2015, she sang "Man
Aamadeh Am" song's remix version in Persian
language with Atif
Aslam. In 2018, she sang the
song "Hawa Hawa" with the singer Hassan
Jahangir. She also serves as brand
ambassador for Peshawar
Zalmi, a cricket team in Pakistan
Super League, and has sung several anthems for the team since its inception in 2016. In 2021, she was featured in
the cover
version of "Larsha Pekhawar"
by Ali
Zafar.
A transgender woman called Nazo was hacked to death in 2018. The situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in the northwest of the country, is particularly dire.
“A transgender person was shot dead and her body hacked to pieces on Thursday night, police said on Friday, claiming that they have arrested the suspected killer and his accomplice.
The transgender person, Nazo, was shot dead at her flat, and later the body was hacked to pieces, the police told The Express Tribune, adding that they have also recovered the axe and the gun used in the crime.
According to the FIR, a Pishtakhara police
patrol intercepted a suspect carrying a bag and upon checking they found human
body parts in the bag. The suspect, identified as Muhammad Farooq, was taken
into custody subsequently.”
Reference: Express Tribune 17th August 2018
- Alisha
In 2016, Alisha, a 23-year-old trans rights
activist in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was shot seven times by a gang that extorts
money from trans people, according to local reports. She was rushed to hospital
in the city of Peshawar, but the staff argued over whether to take her to the
men's or women's ward. Alisha bled to death while being taunted by a group of
men, according to friends.
The popular American newspaper Washingtonpost
highlighted the news:
“Pakistani transgender activist dies after being
shot six times and then being denied treatment”
- Mano
According to the newspaper Dawn:
For many days before her death, Mano, a trans woman
from Peshawar, had been fretting about her expenses. Weddings were a major
source of income for her and she was worried that, with the onset of Ramazan,
she wouldn’t be making any money for about a month.
She had a way out, but it was a difficult one. A
man she had previously been romantically involved with had borrowed a sum of
over Rs800,000 from her: if she could get it back, she wouldn’t have to worry
about money for the foreseeable future.
She decided to give it a try.
Last Friday afternoon, Mano made her way to a
printing press in Peshawar’s Mohallah Jangi area, next to the historic Qissa
Khwani Bazaar. This press was owned by Sanaullah, her former acquaintance. She
approached him and explained her predicament; why she wanted her money back. He
turned her down and told her to get lost, but she made it clear she wasn’t
going to leave without the money she was owed. Enraged at her persistence,
Sanaullah shot her dead. He escaped through the labyrinthine streets of
the area.
Mano’s family, which hails from the Batkhela area
of Malakand, refused to even accept her body, leaving it to the local
transgender community to arrange her last rites. Arzoo Khan, president of the
Transgender Association KP, told Dawn that Mano’s family refused to take part
in her burial, saying they wanted nothing to do with her either in life or in
death.
“We had to arrange people to bathe her body. Our
neighbours shouldered her coffin to the graveyard where she was laid to rest.”
Reference: Dawn Newspaper 27th March 2022
If we research, there are so many brutal incidents against transgenders in Pakistan. We must stand up for all these human rights violations. It is necessary to protect them and provide all social rights. The government needs to include syllabus in the schools to educate our society.
Do you think are we living peacefully
in the world? We watch news on the television that someone has been abducted,
murdered, or killed. Many children get orphan daily, many women get harass and
physically abuse daily, illegal land occupation to the poor’s, many unlawful
incidents of law enforcement agencies, racism, and hatred all around the world
is increasing day by day. Do you want to see quietly? Do you want to live idle?
If we live idle and do not react this
fire will burn our homes.
On 22 January 2018, Shama, 18, was
kidnapped then gang-raped in the Gulbahar neighborhood of Peshawar by nine men
in retaliation against her advocacy for the human rights of the transgender
community. The assailants threatened to shoot her if she disclosed the incident
to anyone or if she participated in any more demonstrations. Shama filed a
complaint with the police but so far, a First Incident Report (FIR) has not
been lodged, no arrests have been made and no medical examination has been
conducted for Shama.
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