LAHORE - With an aim to provide 12 years of academic education (from primary level to higher secondary level), two more schools for transgender community will be opened in Karachi and Islamabad soon.

Talking to the media here on Sunday, Asif Shahzad, founder of The Gender Guardian, opened on April 15 here at DHA, said that school having a faculty of 15 members, had started giving education to around 40 students from the transgender community.  The school was started with the help of Exploring Future Foundation, a non-government organisation, he said. Shahzad said that after the successful opening of the first school in Lahore, two more schools would be established in Karachi and Islamabad. There is no age limit for admission to The Gender Guardian, he added.

To a question, he said that most of the transgender students had shown their interest in fashion industry, including cosmetics, fashion designing, embroidery and stitching, while some had shown interest in graphic designing and culinary skills.

"We designed our courses for them keeping in view their interest," he added. Official sources from social welfare department said that Lahore and its adjoining areas have a population of 30,000 transgender people.