LAHORE – Today we see people fighting for equal rights for both men and women. But some people here want society to recognize the rights of transgender people, too. Various movements for the rights and inclusion of Khawaja Siras are on the rise in Pakistan. Recently, we saw a similar event at a university campus in Lahore organized by; Hasaas, an independent student-led non-profit organization that strive to reintegrate the neglected/ marginalized communities in our society with unbiased treatment, in collaboration with Haath Barhao. Haath Barhao, an organisation that provides financial emancipation by providing skills to the transgender community. The seminar, held in BeaconHouse National University (BNU), included 3 panel speakers, namely Moon Ali, Zehrish Khan and Saima Butt, from the Khawaja Sira community of Lahore. Other involved organizations include Khawaja Sira Society that strives for the advancement of the health and social needs of Khawaja Siras and BNU Volunteer Society.
The seminar was based on an ideology brought forward by Hasaas that the reason we are not making progress as a society, is the marginalization of many communities from mainstream society. “Every individual has a unique role to play in our society, but on the basis of the different roles they play, their share in the society remains equal”, Daniyal Ahmad, the founder of Hasaas added. “Khawaja Siras are a segment of life and are to be treated without discrimination and to be provided with equal opportunities.” The Khawaja Sira community has been ignored and mistreated for decades. Hasaas and Haath Barhao think that it’s time to bring some change around. They call the realization of this ideology ‘The Acceptance Program’. The program aims to integrate the Khawaja Sira community into the society by spreading awareness and then taking practical steps to create an equal society for all. This program has two main goals. One is to minimize the communication gap between a gender binary society and non-conforming individuals. In everyday life, our interaction with Khawaja Siras is restricted to traffic signals and late-night functions which is not even half the story. The second important goal is to eliminate the misconceptions and often mistaken stereotypes about Khawaja Siras by providing information to as large as an audience as possible.
The seminar at BeaconHouse National University (BNU) started off by a brief documentary about the struggles of the Khawaja Sira community. The panelists graced the event with their participation. Moon Ali from KSS (Khawaja Sira Society) started off the seminar by giving us a presentation which included some much-needed information about the basic differences between sex and gender and how there’s a total of 66 genders that have been discovered so far and how we’ve failed to guarantee the provision of their rights and even failed to acknowledge some of the most prominent ones. Later, Zehrish Khan took the stage, sharing her personal struggles and life story. She talked about the errors and loopholes in our public policies and how even if the right idea gets across, it’s rarely implemented. The famous transgender activist Saima Butt took the stage by storm and told her story of how an illiterate Khawaja Sira like her can end up being successful and acquire many skills that most male and females don’t even have.
After this discussion, the panelists were ready to answer questions. If they had not been rejected by society, they said, they would have been able to achieve much more in life. The seminar witnessed a never before seen eagerness among the students to grab the mic and ask questions that somehow or somewhere lay in all our minds. The students in the audience had many questions about cultural and gender norms, how to move towards a more progressive society and playing their part in putting an end to this struggle one day.
There was an overwhelming amount of support from the audience during the seminar. To conclude, the Head of Student Affairs, BNU Zaeem Yaqoob gave a short speech thanking the speakers for taking the time and courage to participate in this seminar. He also appreciated the organizations involved and attending students. He informed them that they planned to keep organizing these interactive sessions in the future. A great amount of hospitality was shown by the university’s administration and certificates of appreciation were awarded at the end to the panelists. To learn more about Khawaja Sira community, follow Hasaas and Haath Barhao on social media and keep a lookout for ‘The Acceptance Program’ coming to your campus soon!
