Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Pakistan issues first transgender passport

Pakistan has issued its first third-gender passport to a transgender activist, who hailed the move as a step forward for the marginalised community in the deeply conservative South Asian country.

Farzana Riaz, a transgender in northwestern Peshawar city, said the new passport would help her campaign globally on behalf of her community, who are also known as khawajasiras -- an umbrella term in Pakistan denoting a third sex that includes transsexuals, transvestites and eunuchs.


"I have received my passport which mentions my gender as X and not as a male or female," Farzana said.

"Earlier I had a passport which had described my gender as a male. But this time I told the authorities that I won't accept my passport if it doesn't identify me as a transgender," the 30-year-old co-founder and president of rights organisation TransAction said.

"Now it will be more convenient for me to travel abroad because earlier I faced problems at international airports because of a contradiction in my appearance and sex mention on my passport," she added.

Modern-day Pakistani transgender people claim to be cultural heirs of the eunuchs who thrived at the courts of the Mughal emperors that ruled the Indian subcontinent for two centuries until the British arrived in the 19th century and banned them.

In 2009, Pakistan became one of the first countries in the world to legally recognise a third sex, allowing transgenders to obtain identity cards, while several have also run in elections.

They number at least half a million people in the country, according to several studies.

Like Farzana, many earn their living by being called upon for rituals such as blessing newborns or to bring life to weddings and parties as dancers -- and, sometimes, in more clandestine ways.

But despite these signs of integration they live daily as pariahs, often reduced to begging and prostitution, subjected to extortion and discrimination.

Meanwhile homosexuality, prohibited by Islam, is punishable by 10 years imprisonment or even 100 lashes in Pakistan.

More For You

Ambanis-Getty

Billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani with his wife and founder chairperson of the Reliance Foundation Nita Ambani during the wedding reception ceremony of actor Amir Khan's daughter, Ira Khan on January 13, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)

Ambanis set to acquire minority stake in Hundred’s Oval Invincibles

THE OWNERS of the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Mumbai Indians have reportedly secured a deal to acquire a 49 per cent stake in Oval Invincibles, a franchise in England’s Hundred competition.

Reports on Thursday stated that Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), which owns Mumbai Indians, emerged as the successful bidder.

Keep ReadingShow less
trump-white-house-getty

peaking at a press conference, Trump confirmed that all those aboard both aircraft had died and cited pilot error on the military helicopter as a factor in the crash. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trump blames diversity policies for Washington air collision

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Thursday blamed diversity hiring policies for a mid-air collision between an airliner and a military helicopter over Washington’s Potomac River, which left 67 people dead.

Speaking at a press conference, Trump confirmed that all those aboard both aircraft had died and cited pilot error on the military helicopter as a factor in the crash. However, he focused on diversity policies under former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, claiming they prevented qualified employees from being hired at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Keep ReadingShow less
Crackdown on ‘fake news’ sparks dissent in Pakistan

A journalist holds a banner during a protest in Islamabad on Tuesday (28)

Crackdown on ‘fake news’ sparks dissent in Pakistan

PAKISTAN criminalised online disinformation on Tuesday (28), passing legislation dictating punishments of up to three years in jail and prompting journalist protests accusing the government of quashing dissent.

The law targets anyone who “intentionally disseminates” information online that they have “reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to cause or create a sense of fear, panic or disorder or unrest”.

Keep ReadingShow less
India shifts defence strategy while balancing western ties and Russian legacy

India produces some military hardware but still relies heavily on imports. The BrahMos missile system featured in India’s 76th Republic Day parade in New Delhi last Sunday (26)

India shifts defence strategy while balancing western ties and Russian legacy

INDIA’S efforts to pare back its reliance on Russian military hardware are bearing fruit after the courting of new Western allies and a rapidly growing domestic arms industry, analysts said.

At a time when Moscow’s military-industrial complex is occupied with the ongoing war in Ukraine, India has made the modernisation of its armed forces a top priority.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pushkar Singh Dhami

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the law promotes 'equality.' (Photo: X/@pushkardhami)

India's Uttarakhand implements common civil code

THE INDIAN state of Uttarakhand has begun implementing a common civil code to replace religious laws, a move that has raised concerns among minority Muslims about a possible nationwide rollout by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s BJP has long advocated for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to standardise laws on marriage, divorce, and inheritance across India. On Monday, Uttarakhand became the second Indian state to enact such a law.

Keep ReadingShow less