Transgender: Dilemmas and Challenges

Abstract

Transgenders are human beings and ought to be treated as such. The State under consideration i.e., Islamic Republic of Pakistan has often been alleged to fail in providing substantive equality to its nationals especially the susceptible classes like transgenders. This Article analyses the right to equality of transgender in Pakistan from the perspective of the aggrieved community i.e., transgender community, by delving into the legal and policy framework. By studying the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, and the jurisprudence developed by the August Supreme Court of Pakistan, this Article argues that the framework of substantive equality is still lacking in Pakistan, and there is a dire need to bring the transgender community with the rest of the population through affirmative action by the State. It is suggested in this article that the only positive way of bringing transgender persons as formally and practically equal, is to take positive actions in the social, economic, and political arena, without any discrimination against them and eradicating the obstacles against the above stated motto.