ISLAMABAD: Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights approved ‘Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Bill 2017’ with certain amendments to ensure protection and providing rights to the transgender, with a clear definition of transgenders and to provide them relief in case of need of medical and other facilities.
The committee, which met here at the parliament house, under the chairmanship of Senator Nasreen Jalil also agreed to send the bill with the recommendations to the Senate for the final approval as early as possible before the end of the tenure of the current Senate in March.
The major aims and objectives of the bill are to define a transgender person, prohibit discrimination against them, confer right upon transgender persons to be recognised as such, and a right to self-perceived gender identity, provided that no establishment shall discriminate against transgender persons in matters relating to employment, recruitment, promotion, education and other related issues.
The bill will also ensure to provide welfare measures by the government for transgender persons. However, the members of the committee did not agree to the proposal to allocate any percentage of the quota for the transgender persons in employment, educational institutions and other departments, and only recommended that they will be given equal chance with other people in all these departments.
The committee was also informed that input from the Islamic Ideology Council has also been included in the recommendations of the bill, especially regarding the definition and share to the transgenders in the inheritance. The IIC recommended that the share to the transgenders in the inheritance will be according to their appearance either it is equal to male or female.
It was also ensured that the transgenders will also be given rights as citizen the of Pakistan, and there will be no discrimination. It was also recommended that there should be punishment in shape of fine to those who will force or compel the transgender for beggary of any other inhuman activities and such crimes will be strictly punishable under laws.
Those who attended the meeting included Senator Farhatullah Banar, Senator Muhammad Mohsin Khan Leghari, Senator Mufti Abdul Sattar, Senator Mir Kabir Ahmed Muhammad Shahi, Senator Karim Ahmed Khawaja, Senator Rubina Khalid, Senator Kalsoom Parveen besides officials from Ministry of Human Rights and National Commission on Human Rights.
