The Sindh Human Rights Commission has advised police to stop harassing and arresting transgender people, an important step toward changing discriminatory laws, policies, and public attitudes in Pakistan’s Sindh province.
The commission, an independent statutory body, issued the guidance on April 3, relying on constitutional protections and international legal principles. It said that offenses based on poverty and homelessness should be removed so transgender women along with street children do not face criminal charges for behavior they take merely to survive. In January, the Sindh Cabinet approved reserved seats for transgender people on local councils, so that each local council has at least one transgender representative. In December, the Sindh government extended the benefits of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), the country's largest social safety net, to transgender people. While Sindh’s recent measures provide some hope for ending discrimination and persecution of transgender people in the province, Pakistan’s federal and other provincial governments need to do much more. According to Amnesty International, between September 2021 and October 2022, 18 transgender people were reported murdered in Pakistan. Discrimination and violence against transgender people are common despite provisions in Pakistani law protecting them. #queer_up_world