Pakistan: Federal Shariat Court Revokes Gender Change From Trans Act 2018

The Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan has pronounced a verdict that prohibits trans persons from changing their gender. It has declared that certain sections of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018 are going against Shariat and reportedly against the teaching of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

The bench pronouncing this verdict consisted of two people namely Acting Chief Justice Syed Muhammad Anwar and Justice Khadim Hussain, reportedly.

According to the reports, the court has said that sections 2, 3 and 7 were going against Islam and thus will be ruled out. Section 2(f) talks about the definition of ‘gender identity’ and 2(n) is about the definition of ‘Transgender Person’. While Section 3 is about the recognition of the identity of transgender persons and 7 is about the trans persons' right to inherit.

The reports suggest that in September 2022, the court had taken up petitions that challenged the legislation and made Jamaat-i-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmed and TV anchor Orya Maqbool Jan as parties in them along with transgender persons Almaas Boby and Bubbly Malik.

The FSC issued a written order that was made after hearing arguments by the parties and experts reportedly, it said, "We have come to the conclusion to first declare that according to Islamic injunctions as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah, the gender of a person is subject to the biological sex of a person, therefore, the gender of a person must conform to the biological sex of a person.”

Reportedly the court also mentioned, "Islam provides all human rights to transgender persons."

Concluding the order, it mentioned, "Consequently, the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020 relating to the above-mentioned Sections of the impugned Act, which have been declared as against the injunctions of Islam, shall also cease to have legal effect, " reportedly