PEACE-BUILDING IN PAKISTAN:
KHWAJA SIRA ACTIVISM
JOVARIA GHANI

The Pakistani khwaja sira community have faced significant oppression and
structural violence throughout much of history. Khwaja sira is an umbrella term
used for the trans, intersex and gender non-conforming people in South-East Asia;
it is being used to replace the word hijra because many people in the community
feel as though it has a negative connotation. Historically, they were given
honourable and valued social positions, however through colonization they were
labelled with a subordinate social class. Until 2009, this community did not have
access to civil rights. This essay discusses the activism that resulted in the reversal
of the structurally violent policies that oppressed the khwaja sira community.

Pakistan is home to over one and a half million khwaja sira people. Khwaja sira
is an umbrella term for the trans, intersex, and gender non-conforming people of
South-East Asia. 1 It is important to note that this term does not include anyone that
is biologically female. 2 It is a term preferred by the community and is used instead
of hijra, which many feel has a negative connotation; however hijra still is often
used, even within the community. 3 Pre-colonization, the khwaja sira community
held valuable roles in society; however, because of the imposition of western values
that were introduced through colonization, the khwaja sira peoples were socially
oppressed and their social status declined; and until 2009, they held no civil rights. 4
This severely marginalized community has been advocating for economic and
social justice for many years; and in 2009, the Pakistani khwaja sira community

1

Chaudry et al., "The Begging Hijras,” 2553.
Jami and Kamal, "Attitudes Toward Hijras Scale," 151.
3
Khan, "Transgender" Activism,” 170.
4
Jami and Kamal, 153.
2

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successfully obtained civil rights. 5 This increased positive peace by eliminating
some of the structural violence that this community faces; further, this sparked a
movement of social justice activism in the khwaja sira community. 6
The traditional role of khwaja sira peoples was one of honour and respect. They
were embraced in society, and often held important roles in their communities.
They were considered a third gender rather than transgender or intersex. Their roles
included “dancing, singing, and seeking wadhais [alms] at the birth of male
child[ren] and wedding ceremon[ies] of sons.” 7 In addition, they were highly
trusted to be “caretakers of royal harems…messengers, watchmen and guardians.”8
They were also seen as “masters of art and culture.” 9 In the Islamic religion, it is
believed that God blessed intersexed people because of their “sexual deformity”
and for this reason intersex individuals, were “blessed with powers.” 10
With the British colonization of India the khwaja sira community was labelled “a
criminal caste, a classification under which they could be subjected to surveillance
and arrest.” 11 This was the beginning of the marginalization and ridicule of this
community. 12 They have since faced significant of structural and cultural violence
in regards to poverty, and social exclusion. Social exclusion is defined by Jo Beall
and Laure-Hélène Piron as: “a process or state that prevents individuals or groups
from full participation in social, economic and political life and from asserting their
rights. It derives from exclusionary relationships based on power.” 13 Although
there is a lot of diversity in the khwaja sira community, for most Pakistani citizens,
“the distinction between various categories within the [khwaja sira] community
does not exist.” 14 Some analysts speculated that the lack of knowledge about
khwaja sira people is caused by communalism and the imposition of western beliefs
about transgender people. 15 These ideologies took away from their respectable
third gender identification and placed them in the unfamiliar category of
transgender. 16 In many cases, when parents realize their male child is acting
feminine, or that their child is intersexed, it is common for them to be kicked out

5

Chaudry et al., 2553.
Khan, 177.
7
Jami and Kamal, 153.
8
Chaudry et al., 2553.
9
Chaudry et al., 2553.
10
Jami and Kamal, 152.
11
Khan, 173.
12
Jami and Kamal, 153.
13
Beall and Piron as quoted in: Abdullah et al., "Is social exclusion,” 2.
14
Jami and Kamal, 154.
15
Jami and Kamal,154.
16
Jami and Kamal,153.
6

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of the home. 17 If the child is granted the privilege of attending school, they are
often bullied and ridiculed for their sex or gender. 18 In many cases khawaja sira
people have been subject to physical violence as well.
The lack of opportunity provided for the khwaja sira community has resulted in
extreme poverty for this group. This has resulted in widespread homelessness, and
many khwaja sira peoples are forced to beg for money just to fulfill their basic
human needs. 19 The poverty this community faces demonstrates the war system
implemented in Pakistan’s society and politics. There seem to be only two types
of professions available to khwaja sira peoples: entertainment and sex work. 20
Prostitution is thought to be one of the oldest jobs in the world, but it has proven to
be very dangerous for this community. A study conducted in 2004 found that
69.5% of khwaja sira sex workers never used a condom. Further, the study revealed
that “60.2% [khwaja siras] in Karachi and 35.9% in Lahore were suffering from
Syphilis, whereas 0.5% of [khwaja siras] in Lahore and 1.5% in Karachi were HIV
positive.” 21 The lack of prophylactic use can be attributed to many factors
including: a lack of knowledge about prophylactic amongst the Pakistani public,
social and religious stigma surrounding condom use, and the opposition of condom
use from sex clients. 22
In 2009, the Pakistani Supreme Court ruled in favour of giving civil rights to the
khwaja sira community. Two of the three Supreme Court judges ruled in favour of
this petition, one being Iftikhar Chaudry. 23 This petition sparked when a group of
khwaja siras were brutally raped by several police officers just a few months
prior. 24 The ruling ordered the issuing of identity cards to proclaim their “thirdgender” standing. 25 Within six months of this notable decision, “the court ordered
the provision of security, inheritance, and voting rights, educational and job
opportunities, and access to government-sponsored welfare programs for khwaja
siras.” 26 This was shocking considering the official stance of the Pakistani
government: they are an Islamic Republic 27 with a 96.4% Muslim population.28
17

Pamment, “Hijraism,” 30.
Pamment, 30.
19
Chaudry et al., 2553.
20
Jami and Kamal, 153.
21
Abdullah et al., "Is social exclusion,” 2.
22
Casterline, Sathar, and Haque,“Obstacles,” 99.
23
Chaudry et al., 2553.
24
Jami and Kamal, 153.
25
Jami and Kamal, 153.
26
Khan, 173-174.
27
Khan, 173-174.
28
"Population of Pakistan (2017)," Population of the World, , accessed November 13, 2017,
https://www.livepopulation.com/country/pakistan.html.
18

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Because it is often perceived to be against the Islamic religion, homosexuality has
been outlawed since Pakistan formed. 29 Many upset citizens threatened the life of
Iftikhar Chaudhry, chief justice of Pakistan, because they felt as though he was
supporting anti-Islamic “gay behaviour.” However, he defended his decision
stating that it was not anti-Islamic, and that khwaja siras should have access to the
same rights all Pakistanis do. 30
Khawaja sira activism gained a lot of momentum after the Supreme Court ruling,
however, many members of the community have been advocating for equal rights
for a long time. Mohammed Aslam is a popular member of the khwaja sira
community in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In 1990, Aslam ran for state office as an
independent candidate. 31 Because he was not physically intersexed and held a job
as a server in which he presented as a man, he was not subject to the limitations
typically placed on his community. 32 However, he was required to strip down in
court to prove that he was not intersexed. 33 Although Aslam ultimately lost the
election, their efforts sparked political momentum amongst the khwaja sira
community. 34
The Leader of the All Pakistan Hijra Association 35, Almas Bobby, has worked hard
for economic and social equality for khwaja siras. Throughout her lifetime, Bobby
has organized many rallies for education, health, welfare and protective policing
for the khwaja sira community. Her ultimate goal is for khwaja sira people to be
“recognized as humans”. 36 In 1997, Bobby attempted to press the national
government regarding the poverty khwaja siras face through her own party, Terike-Tahfuz Tesri Nasal (Movement for the Protection of Hijras). Unfortunately, her
complaint was ultimately denied by the election committee. 37 Nonetheless, this has
not stopped her activism: she often visits government and police buildings in
disguise to expose their corruption, money laundering and lack of a commitment to
social justice. 38
Perhaps the most prominent member of the Pakistani khwaja sira community is
famous talk show host, Ali Saleem, who also goes by the name Begum Nawazish
Ali. Along with concerns exclusively facing khwaja siras, Saleem discusses many
29

Khan, 172.
Khan, 172.
31
Pamment, 35-36.
32
Pamment, 36.
33
Pamment, 36.
34
Pamment, 36.
35
Pamment, 36.
36
Bobby as quoted in: Pamment, 36.
37
Pamment, 36.
38
Pamment, 36.
30

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controversial political and social topics on their talk show including: governmental
corruption, class and economic inequality, and misogyny. 39 Further, Saleem
presents her feminine identity, Begum Nawazish Ali, as representing “modern,
progressive Pakistan” and as projecting a “softer image” for Pakistan. 40 Creating a
more inclusive movement increases the chances of widespread public participation.
Saleem is doing this through her talk shows by associating khwaja siras with issues
most Pakistanis face.
This ruling is an obvious victory for the khwaja sira community in principle, but it
has not contributed to the improvement of their daily lives. 41 Because the violence
this group faces is so deeply embedded into Pakistani society, cultural change will
be critical in order for them to experience positive peace. Several NonGovernmental Organizations have reached out to the khwaja sira community to
help them obtain social justice. 42 In addition, many khwaja sira peoples have
begun their own organizations; however, many of these have failed because of a
lack of funding and education. 43 Additionally, because of their subordinate social
class and lack of access to education, much of the activism done by khwaja siras
has not been extensively documented. 44 There is only one government registered
organization in Pakistan that advocates for khwaja sira rights. We were unable to
find the name of it, because several articles used pseudonyms in order to protect
the organization and those running it. Faris A. Khan referred to it as the “Gender
Solidarity Society,” 45 so we will use this title as well. The Gender Solidarity
Society is run entirely by khwaja siras. 46 They often collaborate with various
feminist organizations in Pakistan. They attempt to educate the public by
participating in radio shows and television. 47 The representatives try to avoid
explicitly talking about sex, because many Pakistani citizens believe that talking
about sex publicly is against Islam. 48 The Gender Solidarity Society also worked
on HIV/AIDS prevention. Many of the existing campaigns were ascribing the
disease to an “immoral and unnatural lifestyle.” After attending a workshop held
by various Non-Governmental Organizations, the Gender Solidarity Society began
educating people in their movement about HIV risk rather than shaming those
39

Pamment, 40.
“Pakistan Female TV Show Host is Actually a Man,” YouTube Video, 4: 02, posted by AP
Archive, July 30, 2015. Accessed November 13, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1whsROPUZ0Q
41
Pamment, 40.
42
Khan, 175.
43
Khan, 175.
44
Khan, 175.
45
Khan, 178.
46
Khan, 178.
47
Khan, "Khwaja Sira Activism,” 7.
48
Khan, 7.
40

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dealing with the illness. 49 Unfortunately, they have to avoid high profile activism
in order to protect themselves from physical violence. 50
The khwaja sira rights movement is far from over. Although this community has
earned access to civil rights, much more needs to be done in order for them to
overcome the violent oppression they have faced for generations. In order to obtain
social and economic justice, the government will have to help the khwaja sira
community. This can begin through the implementation of a job quota for khwaja
siras in order to make it possible for them to climb over the poverty line. 51 In
addition, having public service messages in the media for people to be encouraged
to respect khwaja siras will help with the stigma around this minority group. 52
Khwaja siras have been subject to physical, cultural and structural violence since
India’s colonization. Their access to civil rights was necessary to the reversal of
this violence and with, optimism, will lead to positive peace for this community.

49

Khan, 9.
Khan, 9.
51
Chaudry et al., 2555.
52
Chaudry et al., 2555.
50

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