ISLAMABAD: Following the footsteps of its religiopolitical counterparts in the country, the JUI-F — an important ally of the coalition government— has also come forward to challenge the transgender law in the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) on Friday.
Calling the law into question, the party appealed that it should be declared against Islamic Shariah and in its appeal, it stated that “no law can be made against the Quran and Sunnah in the country.” The court has ordered October 3rd as the date for a preliminary hearing of the appeal.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act stirred controversy countrywide after the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) declared several of its provisions against the Sharia, while Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) also approached the court against the bill.
The law was passed by Pakistan’s Parliament in 2018 and it prohibits discrimination against transgender people in schools, workplaces and public spaces, as well as ensures their right to vote, inherit property and run for public office.
Social media users and conservative politicians accuse the law of permitting gender-reassignment surgeries, same-sex marriages, and cross-dressing. They also claim that since 2018, when the law was passed, over 23,000 people have changed their genders.
The claim that the law will allow men to change their gender to female and women to male on official documents is incorrect. –Agencies
