Hundreds of transgender activists and their supporters protested in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi on Sunday to campaign for equal rights and raise awareness of discrimination against the community.
The protest comes days after the release of Joyland, a controversial Pakistani movie about a married man’s affair with a transgender woman that was initially banned following complaints by Islamist groups.
“The time has come for us to tell people who we are and what our demands are,” protest march organizer Shahzadi Rai said. “We are human beings and have the same heart, the same feelings and same emotions that you have.”
Photo:EPA
Despite a rich history in South Asia, most transgender Pakistanis are forced to live on the fringes of society — often resorting to begging, dancing at weddings, or sex work for survival.
Protesters chanted and sang while carrying placards calling for the rights of the transgender community.
A prominent slogan was “Women, life and liberty” — a rallying call for the current women-led protests in Iran.
“No matter what our gender ... we should get equal rights,” popular Pakistani classical dancer Sheema Kirmani said.
Participants gave fiery speeches and put on lively dance performances, and also held a symbolic funeral for transgender victims of violence.
Eighteen transgender people have been killed in Pakistan since October last year, Amnesty International said.
Transgender people were legally recognized as a “third gender” by a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2012.
They were then given the right to vote, equal access to employment and education, and the right to identify their gender on the national identity card in 2018.
However, that law is being threatened by some legislators and right-wing religious parties who claim it is a sign of encroaching Western values, and that it promotes homosexuality.
“There was momentum for acceptance of transgenders, but religious parties made this Act as part of their political agenda just to gain seats, undermining the respect of our gender identity,” said Zarish Khanzadi, a trans woman participating in the protest.
Joyland, a Cannes prize-winning movie and Pakistan’s entry for next year’s Oscars, was banned in Pakistan last week for being “clearly repugnant to the norms of decency and morality” of the country.
The movie had earlier been cleared by Pakistan’s Central Board of Film Censors, which gave it the green light after the government ordered a review.
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