Pakistani Transgender Mahi On Her Painful Past

Pakistan’s clothing brand Kayseria recently launched their #realgirl campaign. Each episode celebrates a different woman, highlighting the inspirations and struggles she can draw from her life. Its latest episode features a transgender woman, Mahi who narrates the story of her painful past. Mahi works with Akhuwat foundation to help others. But growing up, Mahi found herself alone in a place that chastised the LGBT community. Mahi’s childhood has been an overwhelming concoction of grief and humiliation. And although, Mahi has succeeded at turning her life around, such isn’t the case for most transgenders in Pakistan.

It is nice to see Mahi voice her journey through a platform that has the power to reach millions. Her story resonates with the struggles of the transgender community and is definitely worth being heard.

In the video, Mahi talks about the hardships she has had to face because of her identity.

She addresses everyone watching, asking us to understand that people like her are human too. Something that goes without saying but sadly, isn’t. In school, Mahi was severely bullied and nobody came to her rescue. In fact, one of her teachers even joined in on the insults and refused to acknowledge that the bullying was unsolicited. Whenever she was beat up or verbally abused, Mahi had to hear that she asked for it.

Where Mahi’s family decided to keep her, more often than not, families decide to give up their babies when they are born transgender. Shunned from society through no fault of their own, life for transgenders in Pakistan is particularly hard – they’re denied jobs, and ultimately forced to turn to sex work and dancing. Most transgenders in the country never get to live life but barely get to scrape by.

Unfortunately, Mahi’s family was a prime example of the wrong kind. Growing up, Mahi’s father physically and emotionally abused her as punishment for something she couldn’t change. Even when Mahi was forced to drop out of school and work, the criticism and derogatory comments didn’t stop.

Mahi recalls how her father used to put her hands under the legs of his chaarpayi (bed) as punishment for her feminine demeanor. Can you imagine sleeping with such weight crushing your hands? Let alone your own father subjecting you to such excruciating pain? Once Mahi got a job with Akhuwat Foundation, things got better allowing her to get away from the torture she had borne her entire life. But when Mahi’s father fell sick, she rushed to his care instead of abandoning him. The same abusive father who put her through hell.

What does that say about Mahi?

A transgender who didn’t just choose to be a bigger person but a better human being than most of us. Transgenders are humans just like us. Mahi’s love for her father trumped everything else, and if that isn’t human enough than what is? Why is it so hard to accept someone who is different? When it comes to our religious or cultural identities, we can’t shut up about discrimination. But what about when we punish members of our OWN community for the way they are. It is part of our own insecurity that we refuse to accept amazing people like Mahi. They deserve love, security and respect like everyone.

Up until 2018, transgenders didn’t even have a claim to basic rights under law.

Any discrimination by employers is forbidden according to legislation now but it still happens. It is no surprise that such laws aren’t actually implemented in Pakistan. The police refuse to acknowledge any crime committed against the transgender community so what can you expect? What happens when someone like Mahi is raped, murdered or robbed? Nothing. In most cases, the victim is blamed for the harm that befell them.

It’s 2020 and IT IS TIME that we start raising our voice for the transgenders in our community. False superiority and prejudice shouldn’t be allowed to govern how people get to live their lives. Because if those who are different aren’t above us than we can’t be either.

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