Court in Pakistan Reiterates Equal Rights for Transgender Community
The Dawn, Posted: Jul 16, 2009
ISLAMABAD - Transgender Pakistanis need to enjoy the same protections under the Constitution as any other citizen, ruled Pakistan's Supreme Court reports The Dawn newspaper.
An Islamic jurist had filed a petition saying men who lived as women were subject to humiliation and molestation and made a living through begging, dancing and prostitution. He took up their cause after police conducted a raid and arrested several transvestites in Taxila recently.
Appearing before the court Roop and Shazia described the abuse they receive from family, police and gangsters. The court directed the government to support them through financial programs like the Benazir Income Support Programme.The court also asked senior police officials to take action against delinquent police officers who harass the transgender community. It also expressed surprise that the national identity card marks them as men even though the photograph is that of a woman.
Page
1 of 1
|
User Comments
Dani on Jul 17, 2009 at 10:18:50 said:
Wow it is an eye opener when Pakistan is more socially advanced and conscious of the rights of some of its citizens than the US is.
-->I wonder when the US will start treating Intersexed and Transgendered individuals with human dignity and the same rights and protections as everyone else.