Transgender persons should be given full rights, says Ashrafi

Islamabad: Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony and Middle East Muhammad Tahir Ashrafi has said that transgender persons were part of the society and they should be given full rights.

Talking to a delegation of Ulema and Mashaykh, Tahir Ashrafi clarified that religious and political parties were not against the transgender persons rights but they had valid objection on a sub-section of the act which allowed anyone to formally register his/her gender based on self-perceived identity without any approval.

The chairman of Pakistan Ulema Council said,“We welcome the Bill and amendments prepared by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) with reference to the Transgender Act.

He said the responsibility was on the JUI-F chief’s shoulder as his party was the largest religious and political party in the Parliament.

Tahir Ashrafi said the Bill was passed four years ago and the government’s proposal to form a joint committee for amendments in the bill was a step in the right direction.

He said the Constitution did not allow any law contrary to Islamic Shariah as the Transgender Act had shortcomings on the part of all.

“We should all admit that everyone remained ignorant about approval of the Bill four years back,” he maintained.  Ashrafi said the law minister had proposed to form a joint committee to redress the Transgender Acts sections opposing the Constitution and Islamic Shariah.