The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has proposed a bill in the provincial assembly to establish an Rs.50 million endowment fund for the wellbeing and welfare of the transgender community in the province.
In this regard, Anwar Zeb Khan, Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education tabled the bill during Monday’s session, which was presided over by Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan.
The bill, named ‘Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Transgender Persons Welfare Endowment Fund Act, 2022’, says that the endowment will be established with an initial capital of Rs 50 million.
“The fund may, from time to time, be credited with the government grants, grants from philanthropists, non-governmental organizations, and any other organization, working for the welfare of the transgender persons,” the bill said.
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Moreover, the committee will also offer financial assistance and small-scale interest-free loans to transgender people.
The director of social welfare would command the committee and applications will be received through the district officer.
“According to Article 38 of the Constitution, the state shall secure and promote the social and economic well-being by the providing the facilities to the people irrespective of sex, caste, creed or race,” the bill stated.
It further added, “Section 6 of the proposed Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, stated that the government shall take all necessary to steps encourage transgender to start small businesses by providing incentives, easy loan schemes, and grants.”
The government will set up a special committee to manage the utilization of fund for the welfare activities of transgender people to bring them into the mainstream of society.
Transgender people lie in the most helpless segments of society. They are the most discriminated community in the country, mainly in KP. Since 2015, over 70 transgender persons have been murdered in the province alone.
Meanwhile, different activists working for the welfare of transgender persons say KP has 40,000-50,000 transgender persons, whereas, the 2017 general census put the number at about 1,000 only.
