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Transgender, Khusra, Khwaja Sira, Hirja are different titles ascribed to a person who has a different idea regarding the gender role he is bound, by the society, to perform. They are the most depreciated people of a society, considered to be an anathema or punishment of some sort of sin, but are they? Is it their fault or preference to be born like this? Transgenderism is caused by the hormonal alteration of the brain and nervous system of the fetus in the womb but it’s a recent revelation made by the concerned people in the 21st century.
Source: www.youthtimes.com.pk
The term transsexual was first coined in 1949 and the term transgender was coined in 1971. Prior to this they were called, in different cultures by different names. In the beginning they were called “Shamans” possessing the ability to control weather and to cure disease. They were considered to be highly important to the society because they represented a link between men and women. Romans envisaged them to be “The Great Mother” a deity from whom the two sexes had not yet split. In African traditions they are sometimes regarded as “Warrior Women”. Muslim tradition, for centuries, accepted “Makhannathun”, MFT (Male-to-female transgender) to whom femininity was intrinsic and who were not involved in prostitution and criminal activities. But with the passage of time the transgender people begin to lose their value to such an extent that in the British Rule in India Hijras were considered to be criminals. These examples reveal that the early societies were far more open-minded and unprejudiced as compared to the so-called modern world.
Source: typewriterintl.com
Recent researches have shown that one of the fifty children in Pakistan is born a transgender which makes it 2% of the total population. But these statistics do not coincide with the population of transgender a person encounter every day, which is quite disturbing as people have made it a profession. To be a transgender in Pakistan is to be a person from whom half of the population is petrified because it is a belief that if he/she will curse you than you are bound to be doomed, which makes it a very apt profession to be adopted. There is a very disturbing dichotomy in the mentality of people, as on one hand they hand over the transgender child to the Khawaja-Sira community, because the family cannot tolerate the burden of humiliation his birth has brought to them and on the other hand no one should hurt his feelings. In Surat I-Shura, Verse 49, 50 Allah says:
“To Allah belongs the dominion of heavens and earth; He creates what he wills. He gives to whom He wills female, and He gives to whom He wills males. Or He makes them [both] males and females, and He renders whom He wills barren. Indeed, He knows and Competent.”
This indicates that Islam also gives proper recognition and rights to the transgenders. It’s not in the hands of person to have a male, female or a transgender child but it is in his/her hand to make that child a confident, honorable person of the society. Parents should stop condemning their transgender children, injecting in them complexes regarding their existence. They have the right to be respected and loved by the people around them.
Source: www.hindustantimes.com
On the government level, measures to make them feel important and worthy citizens of Pakistan have started, reflected in the marriage fatwa and the funds allocated to them but we cannot just put all the responsibility on government. Countries flourish when government and citizens work together for its advancement. This advancement can only be made possible with the evolution of the minds of the people. The government has started to fulfill its part in this responsibility but if we won’t do anything this little spark will cease to exist.
