Transgender population to be counted in population census for first time

[Devil Soul]

Transgender population to be counted in population census for first time
TAUQIR GHUMMAN — UPDATED 6 minutes ago
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For the first time in the history of Pakistan, the country's transgender community will be included in the national population census.

The Lahore High Court on Monday instructed the federal government, National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and the interior ministry to include the transgender community in the census while hearing a petition filed by a transgender individual Waqar Ali in November 2016.

Ali in his petition called for the enforcement of the community’s fundamental rights, including enrolment in the upcoming census and issuance of national identity cards specifying their gender.

A deputy attorney general from the federal government was present in court during the hearing and assured the court that the transgender community will indeed be part of the upcoming census.

Earlier, Ali had filed a writ petition through Advocate Sheraz Zaka pleading that the transgender community has been marginalised, citing an event witnessed in Sialkot where a transgender was tortured.

Pakistan's sixth population census will begin on March 15, 2017.

 

[Sheikh Rauf]

Part of the country part of the society how can we ignore them. its a welcome move!

 

[Imran Khan]

Bilwal must be happy today

 

[Valar Dohaeris]

Bilwal must be happy today

 

[Kompromat]

Excellent move.

 

[PakForce]

Why this so great move? Now Hijrhas have 3rd gender. This pointless. We should feed our ppl instead of hijrha category focus.

 

[Curious_Guy]

At last a good development

How would it feel if you are not recognized .Recognition is first step . I wish soon they can be part of development of Pakistan & they are "Our People" .

Why this so great move? Now Hijrhas have 3rd gender. This pointless. We should feed our ppl instead of hijrha category focus.

 

[PakForce]

At last a good development

How would it feel if you are not recognized .Recognition is first step . I wish soon they can be part of development of Pakistan & they are "Our People" .

Wat, u think i cares if some tick box in passport is not exist? This is bacha nakhray.

They probably less than 1% of our ppl.

 

[Curious_Guy]

That tick is darn important ..and its not about how many they are its about recognizing that they are our people

Wat, u think i cares if some tick box in passport is not exist? This is bacha nakhray.

They probably less than 1% of our ppl.

 

[SherDil]

Transgender people will be included in the National Census, the Lahore High Court has declared.



Mansoor Ali Shah, Chief Justice of Lahore High Court ordered the concerned authorities to include transgender people in the Census due to occur in March this year.

Lahore High Court heard a petition on enforcing transgender people’s rights including basic human rights, which they are denied. The petitioner also asked for trans people to be included in the upcoming census and be provided the option for a separate gender to identify with on the National ID card.

There was no third option available for the transgender people previously. They were forced to mark themselves as people with disabilities. The government removed the category of people with disabilities later on, leaving only male and female options.

Back in 2011, Supreme Court ruled in favor of a court hearing leading to a separate entity option being available when registering for an ID card. This also allowed them voting rights which they didn’t have before the court ruling.

National Census To Occur After 19 Years
The National Census has been delayed since 1998 and will happen in 2017 after a gap of almost 19 years. In the 1998 Census, Pakistan’s population stood at 132 million.


Since then it has been estimated that the population has increased more than 50 percent to well above 200 million. The Census will also help policymakers in the government to make more accurate decisions regarding resource distribution and acquisition.