KARACHI: The Institute of Business Management (IBoM) hosted a speakers’ session event namely “TransTalk” as part of an initiative “ACTCEPT” in an attempt to raise awareness about the transgender community and the problems they confront at the hands of the society. The discussion focused on to discuss a variety of challenges faced by the community, while the members sharing their personal experiences.
“We come from the womb same as everyone else. It’s not my parents’ fault either, so why are we thought of as a curse to our families?” asked a transgender a guest speaker, Hiba Khan at Trans Talk.
“How often do we sit and question our gender or sexual identity? Can it be an independent entity, irrespective of our biological sex?” Hiba further questioned.
Most of us assume, for lack of further information that our overall sexuality includes our gender, sexual orientation and sexual behaviour, and we are always taught to believe within the strict binaries of male and female and the separate social roles associated with both, Hiba described.
“Transsexuality as a phenomenon has gained very little visibility or knowledge in our society – precisely the reason why it’s so easy for us to distance ourselves and laugh at. Our society, in fact, contains one of the most visible transgender cultures in the world – the ‘Eunuch’ (Hijra) Community. Eunuchs might have an accepted place in our society, however, that place lies at the bottom of the social heap – making them not just a sexual but also a highly deprived social minority,” Hiba lamented.
Hijras (Eunuchs) have virtually no safe spaces, not even in their families, where they are protected from prejudice and abuse, and the main factor behind this hatred is the inability of the society to come to terms with the fact that hijras do not conform to the accepted gender divisions, Hiba explained
The event was followed by a panel discussion that included well-known journalists like Sabin Agha and Mushabir Zaidi and big names from the corporate sector like Fancy Group Director Naaz Fancy, CandyLand Brand Manager Saeed Durrani, Akhuwat Foundation Founder Hira Zainab and other prominent trans rights activists, one being Nisha Rao.
Aaradhiya Khan, one of the trans speakers who was accompanied by her brother, shed light on the society’s attitude towards transgenders and their hatred in the form of bullying, ridiculing, harassment and verbal abuse.
The speakers highlighted that the law and the constitution of Pakistan do not discriminate at any level. However, while their rights are guaranteed on paper, members of the transgender community say they do not have these rights in practice and provincial welfare departments have yet to implement the decision, the speakers observed.
Naaz Fancy added that awareness and education at a very basic community level could help reduce hatred and increase acceptance. As a society we are still struggling to fight for women rights from education to employment, therefore, the transgender rights and pleas seem like a far cry.
“We have been deprived of education, denied job opportunities, disrespected by the society, and worse we are abandoned by our own families and barred from living a normal human life,” said Faisal Raees, a transgender who works at Akhuwat and earns himself a decent life fighting against all odds.
More initiatives like “ACTCEPT” need to be taken at an institutional and educational level to raise awareness for youth, who are more accepting and empathic towards these social issues, and we need t0o have more platforms like ACTCEPT to speak and voice their concerns, Faisal concluded.