Transgenders are humans.

By Eesha Aziz

From the beginning, a child in Pakistan opens his eyes to see the Transgender community being rejected and mistreated. As the future of the country, the youth is shown that it is okay to yell at such beings, to tease them, and talk harshly. It is always noticed, whether consciously or unconsciously that their community never coexists with us as a society or even normal human beings. Living the last year as a teenager, I was only informed during this pandemic that such organizations existed that worked for the well-being of the Khwaja siras particularly.

This problem could be overlooked if the transgender community would be living as we live, with food to eat, clothes to wear, and a roof above their heads. Not only do they lack the basic physical necessities, but they are not accepted in society. Very few people treat them normally, members of their community are usually forced to indulge into dancing or sexual activities. They face problems like poverty, lack of legal protection and mobility, barriers to healthcare, and lack of employment. They are treated as other-worldly creatures, instead of recognizing their uniqueness, their individuality and taking it as power, as a uniqueness that could drive us to a better future.

They face harassment and stigma on a daily basis by almost every person, being forced to beg because of their financial status. Fighting against anti-transgender violence, they also have to struggle for medical facilities, usually facing neglect just because of who they are. Furthermore, they are denied identity documents that not only result in rejection in forms of acceptance from societies and their own blood but also mentally from within themselves. One cannot even imagine struggling against all these simultaneously and being driven out by their own families. This reality then leads one to search up organizations that work for them, that aim to raise their status and acceptance.

One such branch of an organization is the Akhuwat Khwaja sira Support Program from Parwaaz Akhuwat. This branch has been flourishing successfully for five years now and continues to take transgenders to provide them a family and a home, a place where they are treated as they deserve. This program reaches out to them and then reaches some essential liabilities after providing them with a wage, employment, monthly events that spread awareness about the program, and support hubs that are ready to help.

Akhuwat’s office is located in Lahore, hence the program is concentrated in different places in Lahore and is yet to expand at a large scale. It establishes beneficiaries and provides them with NADRA’s NIC cards, expanding medical facilities to all cities dealing with Khwaja sira. Akhuwat is doing their best, and being a former intern I can assure that the staff that leads all of this is as selfless and as giving as one can be. One contribution that all of you can make, every single person that reads this is to spread this message. To spread the fact that there is a home for all Khwaja siras and that they should be accepted and loved nationwide as they bring so much versatility to this nation’s credibility.