All registered eunuchs will be eligible to cast votes as citizens of Pakistan in general elections, as their names have already been added to the electoral rolls, a National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) spokesman said on Monday. He said the authority ensured the registration of all citizens irrespective of their caste, creed or gender. He said NADRA was the first organisation in Pakistan that was providing job opportunities to the third gender at its regional offices in order to engage them as productive citizens of society. He said NADRA issued Computerised National Identity Cards (CNIC) to eunuchs in accordance with the instructions of the Supreme Court, and the authority was also extending registration facilities to the third gender at its mobile registration vans (MRVs) to facilitate eunuchs in remote areas. Their registration was carried out without any medical proof of their given particulars and details at the time of registration, he added. He said according to Supreme Court instructions, the eunuchs could choose to have “male transgender”, “female transgender” or “Khinsa-e-Mushkil” written on their CNICs. He said after the registration of the third gender as eunuchs, their rights were more protected and it would pave the way for more job opportunities for them in the public and private sector.
