Transgender Pakistanis face uncertain future
The transgender community’s history on the Indian subcontinent spans thousands of years. The community has historically thrived, but discriminatory colonial laws left it isolated and trans people faced violence in the subcontinent.
Pakistan is no exception. A group of 26 tribal clerics in Pakistan’s Khyber province on July 7 banned trans people from dancing and playing music during weddings.
They ruled clergy would not perform wedding rituals at any marriages that included dance and music. The clerics in their decree said they will not perform the last rites of an entire family if any one of them disobeys the decision.
The Washington Blade reached out to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for comment, but his office did not respond. “They have been doing it for a very long time.
