Transgender Activists in Pakistan Vow to Fight Islamic Court Ruling and Appeal to Supreme Court for Protection of Rights

Transgender activists in Pakistan are planning to appeal to the highest court in the country after an Islamic court ruled to gut a law aimed at protecting their rights. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act was passed by Parliament in 2018 in order to secure the fundamental rights of transgender Pakistanis, including access to legal gender recognition.

Many Pakistanis have entrenched beliefs on gender and sexuality, and transgender people are often considered outcasts. The Federal Shariat Court on Friday struck down several provisions of the landmark law, terming them “un-Islamic.”

In response, transgender activists have vowed to fight the ruling and appeal to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. “We will not accept this decision and will challenge it in the Supreme Court,” said Farzana Jan, president of the TransAction Alliance, a transgender rights group.

The ruling has been met with widespread condemnation from human rights groups, who have called on the government to take action to ensure the protection of transgender rights. “The government must take all necessary steps to ensure that the rights of transgender people are respected and protected,” said Omar Waraich, deputy South Asia director at Amnesty International.

The appeal to the Supreme Court is the latest step in the fight for transgender rights in Pakistan. Activists are hopeful that the highest court in the land will overturn the ruling and restore the protections of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act.