Equal Citizenry and Inclusion for Transgender.
The latest episode of Ranra (Light) discussed equal citizenry and the addition of transgender initiatives at the federal and provincial level to protect their fundamental rights.
The guest on the show, Mr. Shakeel Waheed Ullah, a social activist and a transgender, said that gender issues, particularly transgender issues, are a sensitive topic. Gender equality not only means man and woman but also it includes the transgender as well. Provinces are yet to take major steps in representing transgender as there is a drastic difference between the data on their population which hampers policy-making, plus they are not treated as equal human beings at times.
Although ID cards have been issued, yet their identity is still to be acknowledged as it is big challenge and societal attitudes really need to be changed. Fortunately there are multiple legislative measures but implementation needs to be looked into seriously.
Ms.Namkeen, a transgender, said that even though I am an equal citizen but I am still in search of a job, despite having a Master’s degree. Acceptance has to start from home. She said that the measures seem external and something concrete is missing. The transphobic attitude is again a challenge for transgender and the normal people. She emphasized that transgender do have skills and capabilities they are not to be taken as a commodity or sex workers.
The society needs to be educated over the misconceptions about transgender being special people.
A field-based report by Anwar Anjum shared that a transgender is equally entitled to all sorts of public jobs and must be given opportunities.
A report by Bushara Mehsud highlighted the responses and concerns of transgender and societal attitudes towards them in tribal areas.
A total of seven calls were received during the show.
About Sabawoon:
Sabawoon airs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) since 2011. It began as a counter-radicalization, strategic communications program, designed to highlight and promote the fundamental governance values such as democracy, rule of law, women’s rights, and equal citizenry, social cohesion.
The show airs Tuesday through Thursday every week under four themes on FM-101.5 Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan 711 kHz from 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM.
On Tuesday, Jarga Maraka covers current affairs and important regional issues with input from government and other senior officials. Jwandai Jazbey airs on Wednesday and deals with issues of relevance to, and significance for youth, students and women. Socio-cultural and female issues are discussed in Ranra on Thursday.
The primary objective of the show has been to underline the criticality of constitutionalism, fundamental rights, public accountability and the rule of law for countering extremism illegalities of all forms.