Haroon Siraj
\nSWAT
\nThe 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.
\nSpeaking at a press conference at the Swat Press Club, the organisation\u2019s 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.
\nFarzana Ali said residents and local representatives in Mingora\u2019s Shahdara area on Friday attempted to raid houses of transgender persons over allegations of \u201cobscenity\u201d. She added that three community members were arrested on charges of firing, while another was allegedly tortured and a pistol \u201cshown as recovered\u201d.
\n\u201cWe strongly condemn the incident and demand a judicial inquiry,\u201d she said. \u201cTransgender persons do not intrude into anyone\u2019s home; it is others who approach such places, yet the entire community is blamed.\u201d
\nShe 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.
\nAccording 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.
\nShe 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 \u201chas no legal basis and violates human dignity\u201d. The organisation vowed to challenge such actions through legal means.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\u2019s chairperson Farzana Ali and vice-chairperson Mahi Gul said the community […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":516147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-516126","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n