Ensuring equality: Transgenders equal citizens of Pakistan, rules SC
By Qamar Zaman
Published: September 26, 2012http://tribune.com.pk/story/442516/ensuring-equality-transgenders-equal-citizens-of-pakistan-rules-sc/
.PHOTO: AFP/ FILEISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that members of the transgender community are entitled to every right enjoyed by other citizens.
Transsexuals and eunuchs have finally won recognition following some three years of interest shown by the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry disposed of the case and ruled that eunuchs were entitled to all the rights guaranteed in the Constitution to all citizens including the right of inheritance.
The apex court order said that eunuchs should not be deprived of their legitimate rights — particularly the right of inheritance of all movable and immovable properties and the right to adopt any profession.
The court directed that the judgment be forwarded to the chief secretaries, as well as the inspectors general of all provinces, for their information and to ensure adherence of their fundamental rights.
The chief justice also directed the interior secretary and provincial police officers (PPO) to appoint a focal person in every district and tehsil to look after security-related issues of the neglected community.
In addition, the court directed all federal and provincial health and education secretaries and the chief commissioner of Islamabad to coordinate with the representatives of the transgender community in order to provide free healthcare and education to them.
Pakistani daily lauds equal rights to transgenders
Sep 27, 2012
FirstPost Worldhttp://www.firstpost.com/world/pakistani-daily-lauds-equal-rights-to-transgenders-470293.htmlIslamabad: Hailing a Supreme Court ruling that transgenders have the same basic rights as every citizen, a Pakistani daily Thursday said that for years the community had been ostracised socially and denied their rights to respectable jobs, property and inheritance.
An editorial in the Daily Times said that "the state of minorities in Pakistan, whether religious or otherwise, is dismal to say the least".
In a landmark ruling on Tuesday, Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry stated that transgender individuals have the same basic rights as every citizen of Pakistan.
"In most of the civilised world, this would be considered a verdict that ought to go without saying but in a place like Pakistan where discrimination and oppression go hand in hand, the wise words of the CJ have given respite to the third gender, a people who have known little more than persecution and prejudice," said the daily.
