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.
No comments:
Post a Comment