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Thursday, 15 December 2016

Intersex Community Demands Census from Government

A member of the intersex community at the "Voice Up" campaign event highlighted a very important issue; census. She said,
"There are around 2000,000 khuwajasara in Pakistan, but they are excluded from it, because there is no category for them specifically – only men and women. She said if the government would include them in census, they will have to give them a seat in parliament, and make education compulsory, make hospital but this isn’t what our government wants."
Members of the heejrah community say that though discrimination and stigma affect them at every level, it is even more painful when they are denied education and health facilities that limit their chances to live a better life.
The Supreme Court’s orders for their welfare and recognition last year was a ray of hope, they recall. The misconceptions about the transgender community continue to linger on, as Mirza Aleem Baig, heading the Gender and Reproductive health form says,
"Only people with intersex condition deserve employment opportunities by the government. In fact they should be given the status of a special person and offered privileges as in the case of special persons. A majority of those in the transgender community are of those who want to have a free life and enjoy drugs and sex."
Not only do the Transgenders and other communities go through life with an identity crisis, they are continuously segregated by mainstream society and find themselves out of jobs and devoid of any advancement opportunities.

If the government thinks that allowing transgenders the right to define themselves as “trans” is the final redemption for their human rights, it cannot be more wrong. Yes, identity is important but it is only useful if it has a cultural subtext to be allowed expression.

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