TRANSGENDER PERSONS (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS) ACT, 2018: PERCEPTIONS OF TRANSGENDER PERSONS ABOUT CHANGE IN STATUS

Abstract

Transgender community is one of the most marginalized communities in Pakistan. This is also true as regards to the world because they do not fit into the universal and socially accepted categories of gender i.e., the gender binary of being “male” or “female”. Our study primarily focuses on the perceptions of transgender about change in their status after passing and implementation of ‘Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018’. The study shows that differential treatment is meted out to transgender community ranging from labeling, social exclusion and harassment etc., faced by them in public and private spheres. This study
discusses their gender transition, employment experience, familial and social support, monthly expenses and their monthly income, reason of unemployment, hurdles in daily life, and changes after implementation of The Transgender Persons Act 2018 scenario after getting rights in transgender community. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with six transgender persons. One of the major key findings of this study was the prevalence of mistreatment by society and lack of opportunities in all sectors i.e., education, employment, healthcare, and legal justice. Another key finding of this study was the negative and long-lasting effect that family banishment and mistreatment and from general public had on all the participants.