FSC Reserves Verdict Regarding Trans Rights Act Case

News Desk

Islamabad: A two-member Federal Shariat Court bench comprised of Chief Justice Syed Muhammad Anwar and Justice Khadim Hussain M. Sheikh on Thursday reserved its decision on the petitions regarding the rights of transgenders after the completion of arguments by all parties.

The FSC reserved its decision after consecutive hearings. Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Mian Faisal Irfan presented the written position of the federal government, while the Ministry of Religious Affairs submitted the Hajj policy for transgenders to the court.

Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), journalist Oriya Maqbool Jan, and others have filed petitions against the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2O18.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government promulgated the act in light of the Supreme Court judgement for the protection of transgender rights.

Transgender people constitute one of the most marginalised communities in the country, and they face problems ranging from social exclusion to discrimination, a lack of education facilities, unemployment, a lack of medical facilities, and so on.

Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018

The National Assembly had enacted the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act to provide transgender persons with legal recognition and to penalise any discrimination against them.

The law was made after the Supreme Court held on September 25, 2012, that ‘Khwaja Sira’ persons were entitled to all the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The verdict came after a petition by Islamic jurist Dr Mohammad Aslam Khaki seeking the emancipation of “hermaphrodite children” so that instead of begging, dancing and prostitution, they could earn a living by “honourable means”.

The latest petitions accepted by the FSC put the law at risk, as it is being argued that it goes against Islamic principles and is a covert attempt at promoting homosexuality.