NAME: UBAID NADEEM

ROLL NO: FA-22742

SECTION: 3B
SHIFT: AFTERNOON
SUBMITTED TO: SIR Dr. AZIZ
ESSAY TOPIC: WHY THERE IS NO
ROLE OF THIRD GENDER IN PAKISTAN
Many countries in the world have taken steps to recognize identities beyond male and female.
However, in Pakistan there is no official status and acknowledgement for the third gender, that is
why they are not facilitated with the basic rights. The third gender usually referred as “Hijra” in
Pakistan and defined as “male minus maleness” by an expert of sociology, David Valentine in
2007. Pakistan lacks a recognized third gender status due cultural norms, limited legal support
for diverse gender identities, and societal biases.

According to the culture of Pakistan, people adhere only two genders, male and female, and third
gender is facing a lot of challenges. Since their birth, hijra people have been subjected to
discrimination due to the imprecise way in which the concept of gender is understood. The
increased challenges faced by transgender individuals due to social norms and subsequent
isolation make their lives even more difficult (Shah et al., 2018). One reason behind this is that
a little scholarly work has been done in this area and most of the people are unaware about the
status of third gender. Parents hand them over to the custody of “hijra” community on their
birth. This rigid attitude and binary gender perception leads to discriminatory behavior with third
genders.
Moreover, Pakistan’s legal system does not have any proper instruction or method for
recognition and protection of rights of third gender. Even our constitute does not have any
specific mechanism to protect the rights of third gender because of which “hijra” community is
facing a lot of problems in any type of documentation for their recognition. There is an urgent
need of protecting legal status of third gender. However, some steps are taken by the Supreme
Court in 2009 and 2018, but still there is a need for a proper legal system in this regard.
In addition to this, third gender is facing societal biases and discrimination across various fields.
Discrimination in education, employment, healthcare, and public spaces is pervasive, hindering
access to services and opportunities (Hussain & Azhar, 2020). For example, there is no Quota of
third gender in any type of government job. According to research, sometimes, people treat third
gender students unfairly in school, making it hard for them to learn like everyone else. Due to
this discrimination, individuals identifying as third gender often engage in unconventional means
to earn a livelihood and sustain their lives. To sum up, biases and unfair treatment toward third
genders affect many areas of life, making it hard for them to get important services and chances.
In Pakistan, there is no official recognition for the third gender because of cultural norms, not
enough legal support for different gender identities, and biases in society. Therefore, their rights
are not granted across any domain as well as they are facing a strange behavior in society. To
make things fair, we urgently need changes in how culture sees gender, better laws, and fighting
unfair beliefs. Making everyone feel accepted and supported means working together to break
these barriers, creating a place where all genders are treated equally and respected.
REFERENCES:

Valentine, D. (2007). Imagining Transgender: An Ethnography of a Category. Duke University

Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv125jv36

Shah, H. B. U., Rashid, F., Atif, I., Hydrie, M. Z., Fawad, M. W. B., Muzaffar, H. Z., ... &
Shukar, H. (2018). Challenges faced by marginalized communities such as transgenders in
Pakistan. Pan African Medical Journal, 30(1).
Nawaz, N., & Safdar, H. (2023). Transgender Rights in Pakistan: A Complete Study under the
Constitution and Pakistan Law. Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 11(2), 1658-
1674.
Hussain, S., & Azhar, A. (2022). Beyond Gender Binary: Social Acceptance of the Third Gender
in Pakistan. Journal of Gender and Social Issues, 21(2).