Pakistan passes law guaranteeing transgender rights

Law bans discrimination and harassment of transgender people

A Pakistani transgender activist takes part in a demonstration to mark World Transgender Day in Karachi (Getty)

Pakistan's parliament has approved a law guaranteeing basic rights for transgender people in a country which sees prevalent discrimination.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) act was passed by a majority in the National Assembly in Islamabad.

The law bans discrimination against transgender people by employers and business owners as well as outlawing harassment in public places or at home.

It also allows transgender people to self-identify as male, female or a "third sex" on official documents, such as passports or driver's licenses.

Transgender people routinely face severe discrimination in Pakistan.

Many struggle to find jobs and have been attacked, murdered and raped.

Some "hijras," the term given to transgender people, intersex people and eunuchs, are forced to work as sex workers, dancers or beggars.

The new law also establishes safe houses for transgender people, as well as providing medical care and psychological counselling.

Having passed through the National Assembly, it now needs to be signed into law by the country's president, Mamnoon Hussain.

Last year, Pakistan's transgender community was counted in the national census for the first time, which recorded 10,418 transgender people in a population of around 207 million.

However, the charity Trans Action Pakistan said the figure was likely to be a significant underestimate.

It believes there are at least half a million transgender people in the conservative South Asian nation.

Earlier this year, a woman disowned by her family became the country's first transgender newsreader.

Marvia Malik, 21, said she had received an “overwhelming” positive response to her first appearance.