Despite major steps having been taken by the Government to help make the transgender community be less marginalized, the treatment of trans people by the rest of the population is pitiful.
The recent case of the death of a transgender person after not being given proper medical attention is yet another example of trans marginalization
Upon their visit to a hospital in Kohat, the injured person was left alone at night and remained unattended. This obviously angered their friends who accompanied them, leading to an altercation with the hospital staff that was captured on camera.
Even after protests, a professional doctor was not called for medical help according to the video footage
Instead, a medical student was asked to provide medical care needed by the patient. As a result, friends of the patient became increasingly furious with hospital management.
This entire incident was shared by Taimur Kamal on Facebook
Taimur explained the entire incident in his Facebook post and demanded more effective reforms in the health sector. Here’s the post.
This is the situation of Kohat Hospital where there was no doctor on duty at night and transgender person left unattended and when complained, a junior praticing doctor was asked to attend instead of attended by a trained doctor.#HealthRefroms #Tabdeeli
Gepostet von Taimur Kamal am Mittwoch, 30. Januar 2019
Pakistan has officially recognized the third gender since 2009 and laws have also been introduced for the trans community, yet their marginalization continues
Transgender community are now fully aware of their rights and they also understand that they, on their own, will have to take a firm stand to ensure that their rights do not get violated. However, support from cisgender and mainstream communities is needed to ensure that the trans community can feel secure and protected in their identities and lives.
It’s extremely saddening that even the presence of law is unable to prevent the infringement of their basic rights. There is a dire need to safeguard the rights of everyone. Effective measures should be taken to ensure successful implementation of these laws. Change cannot be brought via mere formulation of laws, in fact, the intended change is contingent on the implementation of the already present laws and education of the population at large
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Cover image via: dawn.com