Pakistan: There Is Light Under The Lamp
When the petition for looking into the plight of Khawja Saras1 (transsexual/transvestite) was filed at the supreme court
of Pakistan, and reported in some of the more sensational Urdu print media, it was seen as yet another petition that may
not have any substantial outcome, but it caught everyone by surprise when the, apex court actually issued a directive to
the four provincial social welfare departments to research into all the matters that somehow relegated this one
population into a non entity.
Once the directive was out, I in my capacity of someone who has been closely working in partnership with the community
for past decade or more thought it necessary to understand the directive. Since, I was not a party to this matter
meaning, neither did I file the petition and nor the directive had aggrieved me in any manner, therefore I could not
legally get the copy of the directive/decision from the court.
I used my influence to somehow sneak into the so called copy branch of the, supreme court in Islamabad. The staff was
kind but provided me the decision from another case that was filed against some of the Mullahs by the same lawyer, when
I inspected the decision I told the head of the branch that a mistake has been made and I am provided with the wrong
decision. The head too looked at the file and called one of his subordinates and admonished him with words that cannot
be repeated here but what can be repeated is the reference he used to recall the correct file and that is as follows:
“I had asked you to get the file of those who are fond of getting penetrated and are at the bottom in the sexual act but
you got me the file of those who penetrate and ride them”.
>From that day onwards I am trying to understand the directive and how it is going to play a role in changing
socialization processes and perceptions but before that one has to understand the complexities that are woven in this
directive/decision.
The decision is in English and is mainly focused on looking into human rights violations of the populations of
transgender and/or transvestites and finding ways to ensure equal rights and equal opportunities to these populations.
A very progressive directive from all perspectives as it also reflects the judicial activism that the Supreme Court has
recently considered as a fundamental part of its role to provide justice for all.
However, there are some aspects of this decision that needs to be understood from the context of the beneficiaries.
The decision is to look into the matters of transgender and transvestites. In Urdu2 the two terms are being translated
as Khawja Saras but what needs to be understood is that the specific institution of Khawja Saras does not exist anymore.
It ended somewhere in 19th century when the patronage of this institution seized to exist because of the end of nobility
in what is now India3 .
The terms that are used to define behavior manifestations in male that do not conform to his biological make up are
terms that are mostly derogatory and fall short of clearly defining the different identities that exists within this
specific population.
For the first time the larger society is confronted with the reality that it had swept under the carpet for the longest
period of time, it is trying to be sensitive and has chosen the most “civilized and sophisticated” term but
unfortunately it does not work.
It does not work on many counts and some of main ones are:
• It is a requirement for a Khawja Sara to be castrated, whereas, most of the existing population of the male who
manifest feminine behavior and have a desire to be like a woman are not castrated.
•
• Secondly, the institution that created spaces for such population does not exist any more.
•
• Thirdly, the elements of sanctity and respectability inherent in the institution of Khawja Sara are not there
any more
•
However, what is out there currently is a population that has some of the following features amongst many other:
1. The population may or may not be emasculated4 .
2. The spaces that exist are the households of Gurus. These households are supported by a code of ethics that the
community/population has evolved for itself. No outside patronage is available to safeguard the interest of these
households.
3. The population has been marginalized and ridiculed to the extent that they have internalized their own
marginalization and consider themselves as dysfunctional and a burden on the mainstream society.
Any form of activism for the betterment and uplift of the community has to be designed using this as a backdrop. First
of all one has to understand that there are different identities within this larger population and the English term
transvestite may be the only term that may encapsulate some of the characteristics that describes the Zenana5 identity
but not all as the zenana identity has lot more than just being interested in cross dressing or manifesting female
behavior.
What are Zenanas?
Zenanas describe themselves as individuals who are born with a body of men but with “rooh” (literally meaning spirit) of
women. The realization of being different hits any such child very early and generally he desires and prefers to keep a
female demeanor than a male one. Initially all remains well till the child is reaching the adolescence; this is when the
male in the household get nervous and start exerting both mental and physical pressure upon this child to conform to his
biological form, which for this child is difficult to understand.
In search of his identity this child now starts a very painful journey, where he is alone and all sorts of abuse and
deception is waiting for him. The child is harassed and ridiculed all the way till he finds solace in one of the zenana
Guru’s household. How the child gets there? is something that can be detailed in another article and at another point
but what needs to be understood here is that no matter how gruesome the treatment is at the Gurus house, this remains
the only family structure for him as his own family has disowned him and do not want to have anything to do with him.
The Guru is the mother, the father, the brother and the sister and most of all this is the only space where this child
has the freedom to be what he wants to be. This child is not willing to trade this freedom for anything in the world6 .
How does the so called transvestites or in Pakistani context Zenana community benefits from this decision/directive?
For right now there are many challenges that the, supreme court of Pakistan may have in implementation of this directive
and some of them are as follows:
1. Provision of an alternate system of support if the Guru-Chella (disciple) relationship is abusive:
The petition that was presented before the court briefly touched upon the evils of the Guru-Chella relationship. The
description of this relationship in the petition and what follows projects it as one of the most exploitative and
abusive situation equating it to a form of slavery.
As much as it may be true, the benefits of the relationship should not be forgotten. The foremost thing about this
relationship is that it has built in checks and balances that are provided by the zenana code of ethics and any
diversion from it is heavily penalized. Therefore, there are monitoring mechanisms that are in place for checking out
accesses. How effectively those mechanisms are used? I would say generally more than the monitoring mechanisms used in
the main stream society to check the accesses within. Thus, if courts want to do away with the Guru-Chella relationship
then, it would have to provide an alternate support system which is better than the existing and has all the safety
valves in place, or through a sensitized and trained social welfare department make sure that the child remains safe at
his biological home and the family understands this child’s special needs.
2. Equal opportunities translates into equal rights:
>From the very day that the directive/decision has been made public, there is a sudden surge of zenanas on different
talk shows on most private and state owned television channels. Zenanas are suddenly part of exotic and everybody is
trying to get on the bandwagon of exploration. Well meaning moderators are coming up with suggestions for a “better and
respectful life” and these both aspects of such a life are once again defined by the moderators. Mostly one gets to hear
the following:
“Why do you not get into stitching clothes or cooking or get hired as household help. You have such good skills. Why do
you have to humiliate yourselves by dancing and getting tease?”
Why are the moderators not offering choices such as access to education, access to information and access to wide
variety of choices that are there for others in the society? Equal rights generally do not exist in a vacuum. Equal
opportunities have to be provided for people to enjoy and sustain equal rights.
3. The threat of Section 377 Pakistan Penal Code (PPC):
The Pakistan Penal Code criminalizes sodomy. Section 377 clearly states that any such act is un-natural offence and puts
it in the same category as bestiality. What is the significance of Section 377 in this matter? The reason that this
section is mentioned here is that most of the zenanas do not go through surgical process and remain men as per
biological definition, however, since they are women from within and have the similar desires as a sexual being. They
are attracted to other male for sexual gratification. This brings the zenanas on the radar of section 377 of Pakistan
Penal Code, and makes their sexual life punishable.
In the end, one may say that there is limited utility of this directive for the beneficiary but it is definitely a step
in the right direction. However, if the courts really wants to ensure equal rights for this one population then it will
have to address some of these very few of the many irritants and then my hope is that next time when I sneak into the
copy branch of the Supreme court, I would hear a reference to the case that would reflect a more humane understanding of
the matters and I would not walk out cynically saying a famous Urdu saying which is translated as under:
"Darkness under the lamp!”
Tahir Khilji lives in Lahore and is co founder of Vision, an organization that works to facilitate sexually and
religiously marginalized groups and populations to realize their strengths and understand mechanisms that would enable
them to strive for their basic rights.
1 Khawja Sara is an Urdu word used for eunuch, if one was to look at the dictionary meaning of eunuch, it is described
as a man or a boy whose testicles has been removed or do not function. In South Asia such individuals were used by
emperors to guard their harems as they posed no threat to the chastity of women of the noble descent. The documentation
of 14th and 15th century history of India shows plenty of evidence of the eunuch having a prime place in the palace
politics and beyond.
2 Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and spoken widely in all four provinces of the country along with the
provincial languages of each province. Urdu is a mixture of Persian, Sanskrit and Arabic.
3 The Invisibles: A tale of Eunuchs of India, by Zia Jaffery, Pantheon Books, New York, USA. 1998
4 Generally the entire male genitalia are removed through a surgical process.
5 Zenanas define themselves as women trapped in men’s body. They may or may not dress up like a woman but the gestures
very pronouncedly suggest feminine behavior. Sometimes in the province of Punjab, Pakistan zenanas also refer to
themselves as Moorats (a lifeless statue). In Bangladesh and India, zenanas are called kothis.
6 These insights are gathered from Vision’s own records of researches and conversations with the zenana population.
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human
rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984. The above statement has only been forwarded by the
AHRC.
ENDS