FROM MARGINS TO MAINSTREAM: TRANSGENDER RIGHTS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

This article examines the account of transgender rights in Pakistan, how the trans population in Pakistan moved from being a group confined to the margins of society towards its increasingly central status through transformations in policies and legal frameworks that evolved. To fully comprehend this incredible change, the study offers an interdisciplinary investigation with legal insights and social explorations into first-person experiences. In this paper, the historical context from which transgender rights originated in Pakistan is analyzed to show why transgenders still face ruthless discrimination and exclusion, efforts that have sought to repair these wrongs and empower transgender. It will also flag the challenges and successes in realising trans rights. The study examines health care, schools and the workplace - but also how well transgender people are integrating into society more generally. Given that there is a deep-seated idealization in Pakistan regarding the transgender and intersex community, this study uses qualitative methods (e.g. conducting interviews). This qualitative study provides an enriched understanding of the trans rights movement. Finished off with what Pakistan's transgender rights journey might teach other countries grappling with the same issues. It emphasizes the importance of implementing policies that include everyone, educating the public and passing laws to guarantee transgender people equal treatment.