Pakistan Parliament introduces legislation to protect transgenders' rights

Pakistan has introduced a legislation in Parliament to protect the fundamental rights of transgenders, the authorities said on Thursday.

"The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2017" was introduced by Naeema Kishwar in the National Assembly, the Lower House of Parliament, reports Xinhua news agency.

The bill seeks to provide equal rights to transgender persons by considering them the integral part of human rights.

The law proposes a penalty for a term which shall not be less than six months or with fine, or with both for those who cause physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse of a transgender person.

The law bars people from forcing a transgender person to leave a house-hold, village or another place of residence and to cause harms or injures, or endangers the life, safety, health, or well-being.

Pakistan's transgender population is estimated at about 500,000, according to official data.

In 2009, Pakistan became one of the first nations in the world to recognise the third sex. They are allowed to obtain identity cards and also run in elections.