“We are struggling to seek justice”: a study of the criminal justice system and transgender experiences in Pakistan

Abstract

Background

This article aims to explore the complex intersection of transgender people’s identities within Pakistan’s criminal justice system; a nation in South Asia with a vast population of around 220 million.

Aim

This paper aims to explore the myriad challenges faced by transgender individuals when they navigate the realms of justice, encompassing encounters with community people, law enforcement, experiences within the prison system, interactions with prosecution, and engagements with the judicial process in Pakistan.

Method

Employing a qualitative research methodology, this study draws on one set of semi structured interviews with ten members of the Khawaja Sara communities, representing transgender individuals, within their residential spaces in Peshawar.

Findings

Through the lens of an intersectional framework, the study’s findings demonstrate the fragile nature of the criminal justice system in Pakistan as it fails to provide justice to transgender people and to safeguard their lives in Peshawar.

Conclusion

The study demonstrates entrenched issues like transphobia, cisgenderism, and cisnormativity in the criminal justice system of Pakistan, contributing to suboptimal case handling and the exacerbation of hate crimes against the Khawaja Sara communities in Peshawar. Consequently, a considerable number of cases involving transgender individuals either go unreported or witness the voluntary withdrawal of First Information Reports (FIRs), perpetuating a cycle of impunity and significantly compromising the pursuit of justice in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Keywords:

• Cheela
• criminal justice system
• guru
• Hijra
• Khawaja Sara
• Pakistan

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Children Act (2002) is a proactive measure to curb acts of violence against women and children, Bangladesh enacted the Prevention of Oppression against Women and Children Act.

2 Aurat Foundation is a non-profit organisation working in Pakistan for the empowerment of vulnerable communities and those who are in need of help and support.

3 Pakistan inherited the criminal justice system from 90 years of British rule, is given in the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1898 which provides for case registration and investigation by the police and the trial in a criminal court. Its basic objective is to provide protection to life and property of citizens and to ensure order in society. It has three main phases: investigation by police, trial by Courts, and execution by jail authorities. It stands upon three pillars: investigation, prosecution, and trial.

4 Cheela is a young Khawaja Sara or Hijra who newly entered the guru-cheela houses in Peshawar.

5 Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) empowers district administration to issue orders in public interest that may place a ban on an activity for a specific period of time.

6 Dera is house or place of living of Khawaja Sara and Hijra.

7 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50486439 accessed on 4^th April, 2023.

8 Mardan is one of the districts in Peshawar.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.