PESHAWAR: Speakers at a ceremony have urged the government to rectify the mistakes in the national census about transgender persons to provide basic facilities of life including jobs, health, security and shelter to them.

The ceremony was held at Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday to launch a video documentary named “Life in a shadow”. The ceremony was organised by TransAction and Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network (PCSN) to highlight the issues of transgender persons.

The 23-minute documentary not only provides the viewpoints of the transgender persons, police officials, civil society organisations and government departments but also sheds light on the problems and issues of transgender community.

Documentary on transgender persons launched

Chahat, the leading character of the documentary, said that the documentary was an eye-opening story for those, who saw the world with gender binary approach. The organisers said that the documentary would help people to see the transgender persons through a different lens and create awareness about the injustices meted out to them.

“The documentary observes everyday experiences of coming of age while exploring one’s true identity and exhibits the strength in the face of societal expectations and cultural traditions to fight for acknowledgment and understanding of trans youth,” said Farzana Jan, the president of TransAction.

Qamar Naseem a human rights activist, said that census failed to count transgender persons properly as vast majority of the population remained isolated and hidden from the society.

“Given the marginal status of many transgender persons, the mental stress they face and the likelihood of discrimination in access to health care, secure housing, and employment, it is important that populist representations create realistic and non-shaming examples of trans lives,” said Taimur Kamal, coordinator of PCSN.

MPA Rabia Basri said that it was a unique documentary that provided insight into the challenges faced by the transgender persons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “It offers a touching and engaging view into their daily lives and struggle and raises awareness of transgender lives, increases the visibility of transgender people and inspires others accept gender diversity,” she added.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2019