Pakistan allows trans people to self-identify gender without approval from medical board

by Tim Gibson

In a ground-breaking move, Pakistan has approved changes to a transgender rights bill which will allow trans people to self-identify their gender without going through the humiliation of gaining approval from a medical board.

Senator Nasreen Jalil, Chairperson of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, said in a statement: “The transgender community is opposed to the idea of setting up a medical board that should determine their gender fearing that they might be subjected to embarrassment and harassment. The bill provides protection to the members of transgender community and prohibits attack on their self-esteem and mistreatment.”

The bill will broaden the definition of transgender to: “any person whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the society norms and cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at the time of their birth.”

Despite the violence trans people face in Pakistan the country is very progressive on trans issues. Pakistan is one of the only countries to have a third gender option on their passports.

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