Pakistan introduces legislation to protect transgenders

Islamabad Aug 10 (IANS) Pakistan has introduced a legislation in parliament to protect the fundamental rights of transgenders the authorities said on Thursday.

"The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2017" was introduced by Naeema Kishwar in the National Assembly the Lower House of parliament reports Xinhua news agency.

The bill seeks to provide equal rights to transgender persons by considering them the integral part of human rights.

The law proposes penalty for a term which shall not be less than six months or with fine or with both for those who cause physical sexual verbal emotional and economic abuse of a transgender person.

The law bars people from forcing a transgender person to leave a house-hold village or other place of residence and to cause harms or injures or endangers the life safety health or well-being.

Pakistan s transgender population is estimated at about 500 000 according to official data.

In 2009 Pakistan became one of the first nations in the world to recognise a third sex. They are allowed to obtain identity cards and also run in elections.

--IANS
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