ISLAMABAD:  The transgender community dwelling in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Monday expressing their resentment over discriminatory treatment in healthcare facilities asked the authorities concerned to devise a policy to ensure equal care to the segment.

Though under the “Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, their rights have been recognized but they were not being practiced and the segment has to go through embarrassment at public facilitation centres.

A trans representative, Nadeem Kashish said, “We are the most marginalized population and have to face severe problems in our daily lives, we are dealt with as aliens in an Islamic state despite Constitutional provision of complete protection and equal rights”.

Talking to APP, spokesperson of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Dr Khawaja Waseem said it was true that the transgender community faces numerous issues in hospitals as there are no Standard Operating Procedures to provide medical facilities to them “considering their identity issues.”  He stressed the need to devise a special mechanism for the treatment of the members of the transgender community because it is a very serious issue and must be given priority.