Photo: Express
Lahore: Transgenders serving duty in the service centers set up by the Punjab Police say that because of the uniform, people’s attitudes towards them have changed, but transgenders are still fully accepted by the society and government institutions. Not being done.
Attitudes and behavior of some staff members and citizens who come forward with complaints are insulting and derisive, experts say, which can lead to psychological problems towards the transgender community.
Zainaia Chaudhry is a transgender person who has been active for the rights and welfare of her community for many years, but these days Zainaia Chaudhary is working as a Victim Support Officer (VSO) at the Service Center of Punjab Police in Lahore.
Like Zanaya Chaudhry, 40 transgenders are working as Victim Support Officers in various districts of Punjab including Lahore. Punjab is the first province in the country where such a large number of transgender community has been recruited in government jobs and especially in the police.
Zanaya Chaudhry says that when those people used to work without uniform, they were not given much importance, while the citizens who came to the service center often ignored them, but since they started wearing uniform, the common citizens and staff Attitudes have started to change.
Women who come to the service center, including from their own community, openly discuss their problems with Karan. According to Zanaya, she has got a lot of encouragement and courage because of the women police officers in the police.
Zanaya says that after being recruited as an officer in the police, a new journey of her life has begun, she has gained self-confidence, she wants to do something for the society and especially her community with her skills and hard work, but other transgenders including her. There is a fear in the heart that they may not be fired because now all these eunuchs are recruited on contract.
Apart from Zaina, three other Khawajsara are currently working as Victim Support Officers in Lahore, in which Masooma Ali is serving at Liberty Service Center, Karkash Khan Data Darbar and Azna Khanzadi are serving at Lari Ada Service Center.
A transgender woman serving as a victim support officer in Punjab, on the condition of not revealing her name and place of posting, said that the behavior of some citizens who came to the service center, their staff and some officers were mocking and defamatory towards her. And it is heartbreaking. They are not yet mentally ready to accept that even a eunuch can sit on their equal footing.
Clinical Psychologist and Hypnotherapist Fatima Tahir says that it will take a long time to change our attitudes and behavior related to transgender, our society is not yet ready to give equal status to women, so of course the transgender community wherever they are. While working, she will face various types of harassment.
Fatima Tahir said that the transgender community has an anti-social approach, these people avoid building relationships because when they are rejected by their parents and siblings, then they don’t trust the rest of the relationships, even in the workplace. They are discriminated and harassed, neglected and this can lead to psychological problems for them.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, ASP Gulbarg Syeda Shahrabano Naqvi said that when women started joining the police force, they were harassed and used to hear unwanted remarks by male staff and officers. Then we started to eradicate that culture.
He said that similarly now when transgenders were recruited as victim support officers, there was a fear that when transgender victim support officers go into the field, they may not get the same acceptance from the public as other police officers. , they will get to hear unwanted phrases, they can be ridiculed, so it was necessary that these officers should first be given respect and importance by the department itself.
Syeda Shahrabano Naqvi said that when transgenders were recruited for the posts of Victim Support Officers, the then SSP Operations held a meeting of all the SHOs of Lahore. Victim Support Officers Zanaya Chaudhry and Masooma Ali also participated.
In this meeting, clear and blunt instructions were given to all the SHOs that they will respond to the call of the victim sports officer in the same way as the call of other officers. Similar instructions have been given.
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