- Lawmakers approve prohibition of children employment bills
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Tuesday approved the protection of rights of transgender persons and the acid and burn crime bills.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2018 was passed in NA with majority votes. The bill was also passed by Senate in March this year.
Syed Naveed Qamar of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) piloted the bill to provide protection, relief and rehabilitation of rights to transgender persons.
The bill was opposed by JUI-F lawmaker Naeema Kishwer who said it should be referred to the standing committee for detailed deliberation.
The JUI-F lawmaker moved a motion and amendments to refer the bill to the Council of Islamic Ideology and the standing committee.
However, her amendments were rejected.
PPP’s Naveed Qamar said that detailed discussions were carried out by the Standing Committee of Senate and requested the House to pass the bill.
Provisions under the bill that seek to protect the rights of the transgender community include:
Will be able to register to obtain a driver’s licence and passport.
Will have the option to get their gender changed in National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) records.
Harassment of transgenders will be prohibited in and outside their homes.
Will not be discriminated against by educational institutions, employers, in trade and health services, and when using public transport and buying or selling or renting property.
The government will establish a safe house for transgenders and provide them medical and educational facilities and psychological counselling.
Separate rooms will be established at jails where transgenders could be detained.
In addition to all basic rights, they will be entitled to inherit property.
The government will take steps to ensure employment opportunities for transgenders.
Transgenders will have the right to vote in all national, provincial and local government elections and they will not be discriminated against in their pursuit of a public office.
Anyone found guilty of forcing a transgender person to beg will be sentenced to six months in prison and served a fine of Rs50,000.
Speaking to a local English daily, Kishwer said that the bill has several serious flaws which needed to be addressed before its passage. “But it seems the government is in a hurry and is more concerned about passing as many bills as it can during its tenure.”
She said that one of the major shortcomings is that the bill allows ‘castration’ which is against Islam. “It means that any normal person after undergoing a surgery can become a transgender person; however in our religion, it is strictly prohibited,” she said.
Nadeem Kashish, president of the She-male Association for Fundamental Rights (Saffar) told a local English daily that after the adoption of the bill a normal person can easily change his or her gender to become a transgender person or to join the transgender community which is prohibited in Islam.
“Now the government should establish a designated clinic in every public hospital where a surgeon should be appointed to carry out castration of such people who want to change their gender to become a transgender person as now it has become legal in Pakistan after the passage of this bill,” said Kashish.
Kashish urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar to take suo motu on legalising castration in Pakistan through this bill which is against Islam. “The CJP should tell that castration is legal or illegal in Pakistan,” asked Kashish.
Meanwhile, the Acid and Burn Crime Bill, 2017, was moved by Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Chairperson Marvi Memon in the lower house of the parliament.
The bill aims at making provisions to specifically criminalise acid and burn-related violence by providing a fair and speedy trial of such heinous offences and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto (The Acid and Burn Crime Bill 2017].
The House adopted all the amendments moved by Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian Syed Naveed Qamar. The bill offers free medical treatment and rehabilitation for acid burn victims, besides outlining a process for conducting trials of accused in the shortest possible time.
Thanking the House on the passage of the bill, Marvi Memon said that it took four years to pass the bill in the current form, expressing the hope that the bill would be also passed by the upper house of the parliament. She thanked treasury and opposition benches for supporting this important bill, adding the bill would help support the victims and bring the culprits to justice at the earliest.
She said that with the introduction of this bill, the acid-related crime incidents have come down while the documentaries that won Oscar Award, were also encouraged by such legislation. Meanwhile, the House also passed the Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Employment of Children Bill 2017.
The bill, moved by MNA Shazia Marri, prohibits the employment of children to regulate the employment of adolescents in certain occupation and work. Speaking on the occasion, Shazia Marri thanked all the members in helping pass the bill and expressed the hope that it would help speedy trial of such incidents.