3 Nov 2022
Staff Report
LAHORE: In the Asma Jahangir Conference 2022’s session on transgender law, panellists have held that the transgender community is entitled to all rights available to Pakistani citizens, including equality and protection against discrimination.
Noted lawyer Reema Omer moderated the session titled ‘Transgender Rights Law Under Threat and the Plight of the Community in Pakistan’. Rabia Javeri Agha, the chairperson of the National Commission of Human Rights, delivered the keynote address on the threats to transgender law in the session. Nayyab Ali, in-charge of the Transgender Protection Unit, Mehlab Sheikh, a transgender rights activist, Senator Kamran Murtaza from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal and
Syed Haider Farooq Maududi, a renowned Islamic scholar, spoke about threats and discrimination against the transgender community in Pakistan.
In a resolution, the panellists held that scientific methods, including WHO guidelines, can be used to better understand gender identity and clarify any confusion about who transgender people are.
The speakers further stated that there should be broad-based consultations to recommend improvements to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, on the basis of the Constitution and Shariah.