The decision to include the transgender community in the upcoming census would go a long way in fixing the historic injustices done to this marginalised community in Pakistan. The instruction to do so came from the Lahore High Court, which was hearing a petition filed by Waqar Ali. The importance of the inclusion lies in the power that the census, an ostensibly innocuous instrument, in effect has. That power stems from the mere quality that the categories used by the census are formal categories and this makes the groups that the categories are representing visible in official businesses. Often affirmative action by the state is taken and special rights recognised on the basis of these categories. Simply put, official recognition opens up avenues for entry into the sate, with even contestation of resources between groups taking place along the lines of the categories of the census, and this is something that is much needed by the transgender community. It is no secret that transgenders in Pakistan live in a state of perpetual shame and ridicule. Societal attitude towards them leaves them with very few options. They are in-practice barred from entering any mainstream profession, and hence for their survival they have little choice but to mould themselves in the stereotype expected of them in order to get a meagre means of living. Their entire social network gets circumscribed within the profession of begging, dancing, and prostitution, and this leaves them vulnerable to those looking to profit from their misery. To make matters worse, even state officials on ground are apathetic to their plight, as they largely have the same attitude towards them as the society as large. Hence, while recognition through the census is the first step, work should not be stopped there. As the scheduled census would bring new and updated information about the community, that should be used for their targeted social uplift. Transgender individuals need to be mainstreamed in Pakistan, not just through the provision of equal opportunities, but also through breaking the de facto barriers that so often prevent them from doing so. Special quotes need to be reserved for them for government jobs so that transgenders can get a certain degree of access to the state. The solution to fixing societal attitude towards them may not be as straightforward, but it must be kept in mind that the attitude is due to a fundamentally asymmetric power relationship. Transgenders are ridiculed with impunity because they are weak. Once that changes, it can be expected that the attitude would change as well. This means that empowerment of the transgender community must be the fundamental objective of any policy devised for them. After all, Pakistan’s gradual ascent towards an inclusionary state necessitates addressing the marginalisation and the deprivation that the country’s transgender community faces. *