Pakistan and Gender Identity Disorder

Gender identity disorder, also called transsexualism, is a psychological disorder in which the person considers his/her soul to be entrapped in a wrong body. e.g. A normal male , born with a normal male genitalia , starts acting, thinking, behaving like a female ,as he grows up. He dresses up like females, is attracted towards the males and seeks his sexual gratification from males. He may take sex hormones to get rid of masculine features like grave voice, facial hair and strong muscles. The most striking feature of transsexualism is the utmost desire to ‘get operated upon’ to become ‘completely’ of the opposite sex.

Transsexuals are born and found in every part of the planet. So, they are Transsexuals by chance and not by choice. Pakistan has no data on the prevalence of this disorder. Recently, media revealed a transsexual in Faisalabad. ‘His’ name is Shumail Raj. Dr. Aman ullah could never think that the baby girl he just had will be brought up as a boy.

Shumail Raj could also never think that he wouldn’t be welcomed that way as normal humans are in this world. With the passage of time Shumail Raj experienced physical changes, and also experienced mounting problems for him and his family, and is under severe social pressure even to this day. Now he wants to be a complete boy, but the society wouldn’t let him do so.

When Shumail Raj and Shahzena married, a hailstorm of abuses blew across the Pakistan. It was attributed as the first lesbian marriage, and blah blah blah. It was termed as the erosion of “clean” Pakistani society, and a sheer violation of Islamic laws. So-called religious scholars came forward spewing fireballs and burps, and demanded “punishment” of both as usual. It was also a field day for the media and yet another enjoyment for all of us.

Nobody cared about the mental trauma they both were undergoing. Shumail Raj just needs an operation to become a complete male. He is he, and not a she anymore, and he needs help to become a complete he. We are an ignorant, smug, righteous and narrow-minded lot. We don’t really care about the emotions of others. We don’t let others live their own lives. We take it as our right to interfere in the affairs of others. We start condemning without any knowledge and understanding. We could sort the matters out by offering a helping and passionate hand, but we prefer to do it in disgusting way.

That is why we see examples like Shumail Raj, “Doalay Shah Kay Choohay”, “child prostitutes”, “increasing amount of beggers” and host of others present across Pakistan.