In Pakistan, MTF TGs are apparently called “Zananis.” But their fate isn’t much better than it is anywhere, especially those working as prostitutes.
Here’s an article about Zananis from the Daily Times, a Pakistani paper.
The full text:
The Zananis of Lahore cry for respect
By Zainab Khar
LAHORE: For less than the cost of a digital videodisc, any of these women will rub perfumed oil on your body and set you spinning into ecstasy.
Not for nothing is the Red Light Area one of the city�s best-known districts; it homes the dancing girls, bounteous Punjabi food, shoes, music. The women that I sit with walk the streets each evening
They roam the streets of the �red light area� at night, carrying bottles of oil, offering to give a massage for as little as Rs 50. The youngest of them are just around twelve, while the older ones are those who have left behind homes and families. And all of them have one thing in common: �We are Zananis,� they say, �women�s souls captured in men�s bodies.�
�We have been shunned by our families, our parents used to beat us because they couldn�t accept or understand our feelings, and today we live under the constant threat of abuse and exploitation,� said one of the group.
Once they accept they are transgender, they change their names for the more feminine ones, like Chanda, Meera, Mastani, etc. and they live together, a clan of sisters.
�We want to be treated like normal human beings, we want to have a voice, be heard,� said one, sitting in her small rented room. �We have emotions too you know, and we get hurt when people ridicule us,� she continued, saying that even the upholders of law joined in to mock them.
�We get harassed a lot, and when we turn to the police for help, they only laugh and send us on our way, disregarding our complaints completely.� It�s the policemen who harass us the most, who pick us up at their will, use and abuse us, and snatch away our money,� said one.
�I know it�s like wishing for stars when we ask to be heard, but when two weeks ago one of our sisters was beaten up in the middle of the bazaar, because she refused to escort a group of men, nobody came to our help.
�Everyone stood on the sides and watched. I went crying to the police for help, and they replied by asking for pocket money. Even once I complied, they did nothing to help my sister.�
�It�s the men in uniforms who exploit us the most,� said another.
A member of the clan took off her shirt revealing fresh scars of abuse. �Three men picked me up and took me to a place where I was gang raped,� she said.
�People think we are public property to be used and abused at will. I once resolved to never go with someone I was suspicious of, but that�s hardly a choice, since we can�t fight these men.�
A lot of these transgender people have some basic education. A few had even passed secondary school. They know how to read and write, and take pride in showing off their art skills.
The Male Sex Workshop, an organisation that came into existence in 1994, has encouraged these aspects of their lives. The group researched the zanani phenomenon at length, and has ever since been teaching the zananis how to practice safe sex.
The workshop discovered that for the zananis, are at high risk of contracting HIV.
This Workshop sponsors a doctor, who the zananis can consult for various problems every other day.
One of the objectives of this workshop is to �let the zananis express their feelings and emotions through drawings and poetry. To give them room to breathe and accept them as individuals,� said an official of the workshop, on conditions of anonymity.
A lot of them have married among themselves and go around as a couple. And one of them explains love as �Land of sorrow, Ocean of tears, Valley of death, and End of life.�