Although Pakistan is an Islamic state and the religion Islam advises brotherhood and urges to give equal rights to every living thing, still, our country fails to give equal rights to the transgender community.

Transgenders in Pakistan (commonly known as hijiras) are still neglected by the government and society. Not only this, but they are not even accepted by their families because according to their old school of thought, it is a shame to have a homosexual family member. These people face ignorance in every part of their life, including; education, jobs, health care, and security of life.

As a background of the Pakistani culture, transgenders show a vital role in different festivals and other ceremonies. Yet they play an important role in the history of our culture, they are still the only gender who have to face rejection and ignorance socially. Due to the uneducated mindsets of the people of our society, the third gender in our community is the only one who suffers and even gets murdered while asking for their rights and honor.

Most of the transgenders in Pakistan face discrimination not only by the society, but their families are also not ready to support them or to stand beside them in every step of their life. These uneducated and ignorant families look forward to brutally kill the individual or throw them away if they belong to the third gender.

According to a recent survey, about one-third of fifty children in Pakistan are noticeable with transgenderism. Precisely, about two percent of Pakistan’s population is transgender.

Though at birth, no one knows that which gender do they belong to? Then why do these people struggle in answering the question that who they actually are? According to Islam, every gender in society deserves equal respect. Then why do people advise their children to stay from these people? Why do these people face backlash from society? Why are these people not accepted by the community? Why is it necessary for society to criticize them no matter how well-behaved they are?

Despite the fact that homosexuality is unacceptable to the community, this race of humans has a lot of potentials. They can get good education and jobs if our society, the community and the public lets them do so. Let’s take some examples of transgenders from Pakistan. Marvia Malik is a transgender woman who is an anchor. She is making the country proud with her outstanding news reports and journals. Jannat Ali is educated and fights for the rights of many others like her. Julie Khan is an activist and appears in media and politics, showing her hard work. People have started loving her and we pay a tribute to her confidence and passion for fighting for her rights. These people have a true fighting soul and we should highly praise and appreciate their hard work.

Being different is not what they wanted and nor are they different from any other human being. It is not their fault for being who they are, in fact, we don’t let them be like us. They are also a part of the future of our country and Pakistan can only reach success if everyone is treated equally.

I am pretty sure that no one would have ever thought of being kicked out of home because of their identity. So think of it now and take a step forward to give these people some space in our community and make them believe in the fact that they are one of us. Let’s create a world where no one is different anymore and everyone has the same rights as others. Let’s end these social injustices and heal the world to make it a better place.