Pakistan's parliament has passed a bill that protects transgender citizens’ right to self identify, to have their correct gender markers recorded on official documentation, to separate facilities in prisons and places of confinement, and to vote and run for elected office.
The bill also prohibits discrimination against transgender people in schools, workplaces, hospitals and public spaces.
Transgender rights activist Mehlab Jameel, who fought for transgender consultation on the bill, described the finalised piece of legislation as “not only unprecedented in Pakistani history, but... one of the most progressive laws in the whole world."
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act awaits the authorising signature of President Mamnoon Hussain before it is passed into law.