Pakistan transgenders pin hopes on new rights

A member of the Pakistani transgender community dances at a party in Peshawar. (Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

Published on: Feb 22, 2017 10:55 AM IST

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A member of the Pakistani transgender community dances at a party in Peshawar. (Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

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Modern-day Pakistani transgender people claim to be cultural heirs of the eunuchs who thrived at the courts of the Mughal emperors that ruled the Indian subcontinent for two centuries until the British arrived in the 19th century and banned them. (Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

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Farzana, a member of the Pakistani transgender community, applies makeup at her home in Peshawar. (Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

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Pakistan became one of the first countries in the world to legally recognise a third sex. (Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

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Since 2009, the transgender community have been able to obtain an identity card as ‘khawajasiras’, and several have run in elections. (Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

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The status of khawajasiras – also known as hijras – is opaque in the country to say the least. (Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

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Members of Pakistani transgender community attend a party in Peshawar. (Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

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But despite these signs of integration they live daily as pariahs, often reduced to begging and prostitution, subjected to extortion and discrimination. (Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

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Members of the Pakistani transgender community dances next to Shakeela (R) at her party in Peshawar. But access to education and employment is still a major challenge . (Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

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A member of the Pakistani transgender community takes currency notes during a dance at a party in Peshawar. Facebook pages and local newspapers have become sympathetic in their coverage , reviving the debate on their status in Pakistan. (Abdul MAJEED / AFP)