Transgender group in Karachi links rights and climate actionCEFR B2
9 Dec 2025
Adapted from Rezwan, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by nouman makhdoom, Unsplash
Pakistan’s transgender community, often called khwaja sira, faces persistent social exclusion and discrimination that affects access to education, health care and respectable employment. Legal progress has been irregular: in 2012 the Supreme Court ordered recognition of a “third gender” and inclusion on national ID cards and electoral rolls. The 2018 Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act aimed to extend protections, but in 2023 the Federal Shariat Court reversed key sections on self‑identification and inheritance, calling them “un-Islamic”. That ruling provoked public anger and left institutions uncertain about how to implement rights.
Gender Interactive Alliance (GIA), a trans‑led organisation in Karachi, provides services, legal support and advocacy. Between 2010 and 2015 GIA helped secure a separate gender category on official documents. Since then it has worked to increase social acceptance and to protect people from harassment while improving access to education, healthcare and safe employment. After the 2023 decision, GIA widened efforts on social protection, housing and mental health.
From 2024 GIA added climate justice to its agenda through EcoDignity and Begum Bazaar. EcoDignity trains participants to reuse old clothes, fabric scraps and discarded stationery for craft and design, aiming to divert waste from landfills, build skills and create marketable products as safer income options. In November 2025 GIA ran a climate awareness session in Karachi, linking local problems such as poor drainage, waste management, load shedding and housing insecurity to larger climate risks like urban flooding and heatwaves. GIA also led a two‑day community mural called ‘WAll of Resistance’ in Chanesar Town with AWID, local artists, trans artist activist Bubbles and project officer Aradhyia Khan to increase municipal visibility.
GIA says equity is central to its climate work and links human rights gaps to climate impacts when engaging governments. A continuing challenge is sustaining meaningful participation in urban planning, and GIA now uses public art and the success of its enterprises to secure and sustain those dialogues.
Difficult words
- exclusion — social isolation that blocks equal participation
- self‑identification — a person's right to declare their gender
- inheritance — property or assets received after someone's death
- advocacy — public support or actions for a cause
- harassment — unwanted behaviour that intimidates or offends people
- municipal — relating to a city or local government
- equity — fairness in treatment, access and opportunity
- enterprise — small businesses or organised income activitiesenterprises
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How might public art and increased municipal visibility help transgender communities influence urban planning?
- What are the possible benefits and risks of linking human rights work with climate justice efforts?
- What steps could organisations like GIA take to keep participation meaningful in government dialogues?
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