On Friday, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a Pakistan government ally and member of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), challenged Pakistan’s Transgender Protection Act, 2018, at the Federal Shariat Court (FSC). The court has set October 3rd as the date for the appeal’s preliminary hearing.
The party contested the law and demanded that it be ruled incompatible with Islamic Shariah, arguing that no law that conflicts with the Quran and Sunnah can be passed in the Islamic nation. The JUI-F has filed the petition in the Federal Shariat Court challenging the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
A JUI-F spokesperson said the party would continue its struggle against this act on every platform. The petition comes days after the Transgender Act Amendment Bill 2022 was presented in the house by PTI Senator Fauzia Arshad. The bill has been sent to a relevant standing committee of the parliament.
The law, which Pakistan’s Parliament enacted in 2018, forbids discrimination against transgender persons in social places including schools and workplaces. It also guarantees their rights to vote, inherit property, and run for office.
The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) ruled some of the sections of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act to be against Sharia, and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) also filed a court complaint opposing the legislation, which sparked controversy across the nation. CII had said that many sections of the Transgender Act are not in conformity with Islamic teachings and could add to social problems in the country.
Conservative lawmakers and social media users allege that the law supports same-sex unions, cross-dressing, and gender reassignment surgery. Additionally, they assert that since the law’s passage in 2018 more than 23,000 individuals have altered their gender. The law, according to JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman, is against the Sunnah and the teachings of the Holy Quran, and he intends to change it in parliament.
For a long time, the situation of transgender people in Pakistan has been dire. The law passed in 2018 promised to transform the scene of gender-based discrimination in the country, but there has been no improvement in the situation of transgender people in Pakistan.
Many people in Pakistan see trans individuals as misfits, particularly in conservative areas where they are frequently sexually molested, raped, and even murdered. They also avoid enrolling in conventional schools in order to escape prejudice. While there is opposition to transgender legislation, a hotline for transgender persons has been established in an effort to protect them from discrimination and harassment.
The hotline comes as the Shehbaz Sharif government attempts to revise the transgender rights bill to allow trans persons to select their gender identity for previously issued government documents and national identity cards.
