It is quite good and appreciable to note that transgender persons , commonly known as Khwaja Seras, are hitting the headlines these days as their socio-economic problems are being addressed appropriately at a high level in order to ensure solution of their problems at the earliest possible.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr Justice Mian Saquib Nisar has constituted a special committee to ensure provision of Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) to transgender persons within a week while hearing the sou motu case on the issue at the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry the other day.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) during the proceedings remarked that the CNICs should be issued through one window mechanism, he himself will be monitoring the entire process online, special courts will be formed for the security of the transgender community ,problems of the transgender communities cannot be solved until they are provided legal security, we will not tolerate any kind of mistreatment or eve-teasing of the transgender community.
According to the reports in the newspapers, the CJP also directed that all those transgender persons who have CNICs should be allowed to vote, Khwaja Seras are an important part of our society, we do not know about the government but we will provide all legal provisions to the transgender persons ,whether the State steps in or not the judiciary will do everything in its capacity to ensure that the transgender community gets its due, as a society we should be ashamed for being inconsiderate towards them.
It is perhaps for the first time that problems of transgender persons are being taken up and addressed at such high level forcefully and all this augurs well for solution of their problems in due course of time. The federal and provincial governments and the civil society should take a cue from what the CJP has remarked and try to do their bit in this regard as well, please. Thanks.
MUHAMMAD MURTAZA ZEESHAN,
Lahore, June 19.
