LAHORE: At least 50 clerics affiliated with a little known Tanzeem Ittehad-i-Ummat have issued a fatwa (religious decree) that marriage with a transgender person is lawful.

The fatwa, released on Sunday, said a transgender person having “visible signs of being a male” may marry a woman or a transgender with “visible signs of being a female” and vice versa.

But, the fatwa added, a transgender person carrying “visible signs of both genders” may not marry anyone.

It declared that robbing transgender people of their share in inheritance was unlawful and that parents who deprive their transgender sons/daughters of inheritance were “inviting the wrath of God”.

The clerics called upon the government to take action against such parents.

The decree also dwelt upon societal attitudes towards transgenders. It went to the extent of terming ‘haraam’ any act intended to “humiliate, insult or tease” them.

The fatwa ended with a word on last rites, declaring that all funeral rituals for a transgender person will be the same as for any other Muslim man or woman.

The clerics who issued the fatwa included Imran Hanfi, Pir Karamat Ali, Abu Bakr Awan, Masoodur Rehman, Tahir Tabassum Qadri, Khalil Yousafi, Gul Ateequi, Gulzar Naeemi, Intikhab Noori, Abdul Sattar Saeedi and Khizarul Islam.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

Promises, promises
Updated 03 Dec, 2023

Promises, promises

The climate crisis transcends national borders and political agendas, demanding a unified, decisive response.
PCB’s strange decision
03 Dec, 2023

PCB’s strange decision

THE Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision-making and the way it is being run has become a joke. A day after appointing...
Resettling Afghans
03 Dec, 2023

Resettling Afghans

FOR two years now, since the Afghan Taliban took Kabul, thousands of Afghans in Pakistan who had worked for Western...
Next steps
Updated 02 Dec, 2023

Next steps

An impression is gaining currency that the decision-makers want more time to continue stabilising the economy.
Massacre resumes
Updated 02 Dec, 2023

Massacre resumes

Efforts should be made to renew the ceasefire, but they should also push for a long-term cessation of hostilities.
Wearing poison
02 Dec, 2023

Wearing poison

A RECENT study by Karachi University has cast a spotlight on the contamination of children’s jewellery with toxic...