The Legal Rights of Transgender (Khansa) in Islamic State
he Gender may be divided into three types: male, female, and a mix of both. The last one is known by different names, i.e., transgender, hermaphrodite, eunuch, mukhannath, khansa, etc.Due to their special physical features, they are given less importance in most of societies. The present research highlights the legal status and rights of transgender in Islamic society. The research finds that under Islamic law,there are no separate laws for the transgender except a few. Transgender has no fewer rights than a man or woman. Although transgender are accepted and recognized in the Islamic world, even then, examples of their rejection are also found. Therefore, it is necessary to educate society that every person is equally respectable,whether it is a male, a female, or a transgender. Where a transgender is similar to a male person, he is treated as a male person, and where a transgender is similar to a female person, she is treated as a female person. Anywhere it is difficult to ascertain a transgender as a male or female, a transgender is to be treated like a human being. The doctrinal method of research has been adopted to conduct the present study
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Transgender, Hermaphrodite, Khansa, Kantha, Mukhannath, Hijra, Islamic Law, Human Rights
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(1) Amjad Hussain
Assistant Professor, Department of Law, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan.
(2) Muhammad Arif Saeed
LLM, Department of Law, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan.
(3) Aas Muhammad
LLM, Department of Law, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan.
Transgender Rights Law in Pakistan: Mental Health Perspective
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018 is an exclusive statutory law dealing with the rights of transgender persons in Pakistan, the greatest strength of which is the right given to transgender persons to be recognized based on their self-perceived gender identity. However, in its recent judgement, the Federal Shariat Court struck down some of the key sections of this act by declaring them unIslamic. Gender is a social construct and is different from the biological sex. Gender identity, which is the innermost feeling of a person, cannot be changed. Moreover, transgender identity is not a mental disorder and is different from gender dysphoria. This paper discusses the transgender law in Pakistan in detail and the insights from the field of mental health to understand the transgender phenomenon and to handle transgenders' rights in Pakistan by bridging the gaps between the understandings of relevant stakeholders.
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Dysphoria, Identity, Transgender, Mental
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(1) Ali Ajmal
LLM, University Law College, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
(2) Faiza Rasool
Research Scholar, Institute of Applied Psychology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Exploring the Lived Experiences of Transgender in Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
This study aimed to study the social exclusion of transgender in Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The study used qualitative research method in which data was collected through in-depth interviews with 25 respondents in the selected locales. The collected data was thematically analyzed and the results suggest that transgender face social exclusion which further exacerbates the vicious circle of discrimination, harassment, and violence from the broader society. It is concluded from the study that due to complex and debatable nature of the issue and the discriminative behavior of society toward transgender leads towards their sexual victimization, stigma, sexual abuse and violence. It is recommended that that the existing laws and policies regarding physical and sexual violence against transgender may be reassessed and to take concrete policy measures to ensure the mainstreaming of transgender in society.
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Transgender, Social Exclusion, Violence, Discrimination, Harassment
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(1) Shoukat Nawaz
MPhil Scholar, Department of Sociology, Hazara University Mansehra, KP, Pakistan.
(2) Khalil ur Rahman
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Hazara University, Mansehra, KP, Pakistan.
(3) Khalid Ahmed
MPhil Scholar, Department of Sociology, Hazara University Mansehra, KP, Pakistan.