PAKISTANI COURT: TRANS PEOPLE HAVE EQUAL RIGHTS
Pakistani transgender women at a 2008 protest
The Supreme Court in Pakistan has ruled that transgender people are entitled to the same rights as every other citizen.
In a landmark ruling by a three-member bench of the court, the justices confirmed last week Tuesday that the rights enshrined in the Constitution, including the right of inheritance, apply to trans people.
The court further ordered that its ruling be forwarded to officials in all provinces to ensure that the ruling is adhered to.
It also directed federal and provincial health and education officials to provide members of the transgender community with free healthcare and education.
The case stemmed from a 2009 incident in which police arrested a group of transgender people at a party in the town of Taxila.
While transgender people have been increasingly recognised in Pakistani society as a “third sex”, homosexuality is less tolerated and remains illegal in the country.
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