The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) on Thursday directed the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to submit report within 15 days on the definition of transgender and the procedure for issuing identity cards to them.
A bench headed by Acting FSC Chief Justice Syed Muhammad Anwar, took up the case filed against the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice asked how did NADRA define transgender male and transgender female. The counsel for NADRA replied that Regulation 13 of the issuing authority had become ineffective with the introduction of the Transgender Act adding that even before the Transgender Act 2018 was promulgated, NADRA would issue identity cards to transgender individuals. Since the Transgender Act, transgender individuals have the letter ‘X’ written for their gender, instead of M or F, he added.
The chief justice asked how NADRA defined a transgender woman and transgender man. The counsel sought more time to prepare a response.
Chief Justice Dr Syed Mohammad Anwar expressed displeasure and said that the court was hearing the case after many days but the authority failed to prepare the main point. He asked the counsel to explain under what procedure NADRA was determining the transgender identity.
Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Shayari said that a film ‘Joyland’ about transgenders in Pakistan was being released on November 18. The film was based on the romantic story of a transgender woman and a man, he added. He claimed that the Censor Board had cleared the release of the film without even viewing it. He pleaded the court to issue stay order on all matters related to the Transgender Act until the matter was resolved. He said NADRA should answer whether someone requesting a transgender identity card undergo a medical test or not. The FSC Chief Justice asked how many people had benefited from the transgender law. He said that according to reports the number of beneficiaries of the Transgender Act was zero. According to a representative of the Ministry of Human Rights, a transgender protection centre had been established in the ministry. The chief justice said that the Human Rights Ministry should seriously look into the issue of transgender. The court ordered NADRA to submit a report within 15 days, detailing the definition of the term transgender and how it was considered in the process of issuing identity cards and adjourned further hearing of the case.