Since early last month when Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan of Jamaat-e-Islami, a staunch religious party, proposed the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights amend the Transgender Protection Act of 2018, Pakistan's social and mainstream media swarmed with heated debate on the subject.
Pakistan, despite being a predominantly conservative society with strong Islamic inclinations, is one of only a few countries that have enacted comprehensive legislation to protect the rights of transgender people.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018 reaffirms the fundamental rights of transgender people such as their right to an identity, education, healthcare, employment, access to public spaces and political participation. Most importantly, it recognises their right to live with dignity, free from harassment and discrimination.
