Engaging with Transgenders in Pakistan in the Existing Legal Corpus and Framework for Their Enforcement; A Critical Appraisal, Issues and Future Policy Suggestions

Abstract

"Gender is an anchor and once people decide what you are they interpret everything you do in light of that”. While, sex is the biological component, gender is the psychological and social component. However, there are certain conditions in which the biological aspects are in contradiction with the social and psychological aspects of gender. These conditions override the biology in determining gender identity and influencing gender role.(2) In West, the term transgender is used for people whose gender identity, expression or behavior is different from those typically associated with their assigned sex at birth. In Pakistan, the terminology transgender is interchangeably used with khawajasaras and eunich. The word transgender or khawajasara in Pakistan is commonly used to refer to intersex persons, individuals born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't fit the binary categories, male or female. Khawajasara is an umbrella term used for those men who are transgender, eunuch, transvestites, hermaphrodites or intersexed, bisexuals or homosexuals with feminine behaviour.