ISLAMABAD – Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar on Tuesday said two transgenders would be provided jobs in the Supreme Court.
For the first time in the history of Pakistan, the Supreme Court will hire two transgender persons to give them their rights in the South Asian country.
Chairing a bench to hear a case regarding transgenders’ rights, Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar on Tuesday said two transgenders would be provided jobs in the Supreme Court.
“In our society transgenders are subjected to ridicule. It is our top most priority to give them their rights,” he was quoted as saying by Geo News.
The chief justice said the court would issue notices to NGOs and government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while it hears the case related to basic rights of transgenders.
“[The Supreme] Court wants to bring them into mainstream. It wants to resolve their issues,” said the top judge while presiding over a three-judge bench.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/pakistan-adopts-transgender-persons-protection-acid-and-burn-crime-bills/
NADRA Chairman who appeared during the hearing, informed the court upon being asked whether identity cards to all transgender applicants have been issued, that his organization is issuing cards and also initiated a facilitation campaign.
The CJ lamented that the community was facing threats and ridicule in KP.
The court also took an exception to a website that he was told is involved in spreading misleading material against transgenders.
The court was told that an NGO named Blue Van had established the website which claims as many as 500 transgenders have been murdered in the country.
In 2009, Pakistan became one of the first countries in the world to legally recognize a third sex, allowing transgenders to obtain identity cards. They number at least half a million people in the country, according to several studies, but their representation in politics and many other spheres of life remains negligible.
The transgender community was counted in the national census for the first time in 2017. Homosexuality is illegal in Pakistan.
