Daily Times

The passage of a resolution by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly seeking voting rights for the transgender community in the province is a significant step towards mainstreaming ostracised people who have been treated heartlessly by society. The resolution stated that the federal government should be pursued to contact Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for giving voting rights to the transvestites. It could be a groundbreaking change for transgender rights as such laws need to be enacted that could safeguard their basic political right as enshrined in the constitution of Pakistan. Back in 2011, the Supreme Court had issued a ruling on November 14 ordering the Election Commission of Pakistan to collect data from the transgender community and register them as voters. Transgender disenfranchisement is the prevention by bureaucratic, institutional and social barriers, of transgender individuals from voting or participating in other aspects of civic life. Voting is a key part of their participation in society and having their voices heard in the issues that
affect them.

Obstacles for transgender voters are particularly acute in Pakistan, one of the most conservative countries, where ethnic, religious and sexual minorities have often been victims of violence and persecution. One of the obstacles for the transgender community to exercise their right to vote is the acquisition of a computerised national identity card (CNIC). Reportedly, at least 90 percent of the people who are transgender in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa do not still possess a CNIC. This is either because they do not have their father’s name or there is no option in the form that identifies their gender. Government’s urgent attention is needed to end this discrimination against transgender people, who have no choice regarding fulfilment of their professional, educational and housing needs. They are treated like pariahs in society and do not enjoy an equal status like other citizens. The transgender community has been facing oppression for decades. Not only the government, it is also the job of civil society to come forward and recognise them as one of the members of the mainstream and do not just engage in mockery or just make them a laughingstock. Recommendations should be forwarded to give transgender rights of franchise and granting them a respectable status in the society, which are long overdue.

By giving them the franchise right, the government can open the doors to eliminate other kinds of discrimination against transgender people. Already the Pakistani discourse on human rights has largely neglected the transgendered. They can contribute positively to the country’s economy if they are treated equally. At present, their lives are limited to earn a few bucks through singing and dancing at family functions and weddings or else they work as sex workers. It is high time this discrimination might come to an end. Moreover, by providing the right to vote will enable the transgendered to have their say in politics as well as it will give this marginalised community a stronger political voice. *