Haroon Siraj
SWAT
The Trans Action Community Organisation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday criticised the arrest and attempted eviction of transgender persons in Swat, terming the actions unlawful and contrary to basic human rights.
Speaking at a press conference at the Swat Press Club, the organisation’s chairperson Farzana Ali and vice-chairperson Mahi Gul said the community in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa estimated at around 75,000 people continued to face discrimination and deprivation of fundamental rights. They urged the provincial authorities to prioritise education, employment and skills training for transgender persons instead of subjecting them to police harassment.
Farzana Ali said residents and local representatives in Mingora’s Shahdara area on Friday attempted to raid houses of transgender persons over allegations of “obscenity”. She added that three community members were arrested on charges of firing, while another was allegedly tortured and a pistol “shown as recovered”.
“We strongly condemn the incident and demand a judicial inquiry,” she said. “Transgender persons do not intrude into anyone’s home; it is others who approach such places, yet the entire community is blamed.”
She said the organisation did not defend individuals involved in criminal or immoral activities, but maintained it was unacceptable to target innocent transgender persons under broad accusations.
According to the trans action community organization, 950 transgender persons are registered in Swat, most of whom face social rejection from families and communities. Farzana said this made it even more important for the state to ensure their legal protection and help them integrate as productive citizens.
She added that while lawful action should be taken in cases where wrongdoing is proven, the practice of arbitrarily detaining transgender persons or expelling them from the district “has no legal basis and violates human dignity”. The organisation vowed to challenge such actions through legal means.
