Fatwa in Pakistan allows transgenders to marry.
A cohort of 50 Muslim clerics in Pakistan issued a fatwa on June 26, declaring that the marriage of transgender individuals is acceptable in Islam.
The fatwa categorically noted that any act meant to “humiliate, insult or tease” the community was “haraam” (sinful), and that transgender persons should not be deprived of family inheritances, nor the right to be buried in Muslim ceremonies.
But, the fatwa added, a transgender person carrying “visible signs of both genders” may not marry anyone.
“It is permissible for a transgender person with male indications on his body to marry a transgender person with female indications on her body”, said the religious document issued on Sunday, as reported by Reuters.
Given that religion and politics are so closely intertwined in Pakistan, the fatwa carries a significant amount of weight, though it’s technically not legally binding in any way. “By Sharia we already had the right [to marry], but unless measures are taken to remove the misconceptions about us in society, the condition of our community will not be changed”.
“Transgender people face unique legal issues with regard to marriage”.
She said they welcome the decree because it allows marriage between transgender people and recognises them as equal human beings and citizens.
“This practice can only be stopped when [the] government spread awareness about rights of a transgender person”. There are between 80,000 and 300,000 transgender people in Pakistan according to a 2009 census.
Under a new fatwa, a trans woman with “visible signs of being a female” may marry a male and a trans woman “with visible signs of being a male” may marry a woman.
Late last month, Alisha, a 23-year-old transgender woman, died after being shot and then refused treatment at the largest public sector hospital in Peshawar, in northwest Pakistan. The group estimated that there are at least half-a-million transgender people in the South Asian country. “They are also created by Allah Almighty”. It denies homosexual couples permission to marry, with male homosexuals having been charged under anti-sodomy laws in the past.
