Transgender group in Karachi links rights and climate actionCEFR B1
9 Dec 2025
Adapted from Rezwan, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by nouman makhdoom, Unsplash
Pakistan’s transgender community, often known as khwaja sira, faces long‑term exclusion. Many people are displaced at a young age and struggle to access education, health care and respectable work. Legal change has been uneven: in 2012 the Supreme Court ordered recognition of a “third gender” and the 2018 Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act promised broader protections. In 2023 the Federal Shariat Court reversed key sections on self‑identification and inheritance and called them “un‑Islamic”, which increased public anger and created confusion in institutions.
Gender Interactive Alliance (GIA) is a trans‑led organisation in Karachi that provides services, legal support and advocacy. Between 2010 and 2015 GIA helped win a separate gender category for official documents. After the 2023 setback, it expanded work on healthcare access, social protection, employment, housing and mental health support.
From 2024 GIA added climate justice work. Its EcoDignity and Begum Bazaar projects train people in craft and recycling to make marketable products and safer livelihoods, and to reduce waste.
Difficult words
- transgender — people whose gender differs from assigned sex at birth
- exclusion — being left out or not allowed to join
- displaced — forced to leave home or usual place
- recognition — official acceptance or legal acknowledgement of status
- inheritance — property or rights received after someone's death
- advocacy — public support or work for a social cause
- livelihood — ways people earn money and survivelivelihoods
- recycling — processing waste to make new useful materials
- institutions — official organisations or public systems
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How can training in craft and recycling improve livelihoods for displaced or excluded people?
- What problems can legal confusion and reversed court decisions cause for transgender people's access to services?
- What role can organisations like GIA play in helping communities after legal setbacks?
Related articles
Indigenous groups at COP30 demand forest protection and rights
At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, indigenous peoples and local communities asked for stronger protection of tropical forests, recognition of territorial rights, and direct access to climate finance. A GATC and Earth Insight report maps where extractive industries threaten forests and people.
Climate change and farming in North Kivu
In North Kivu, eastern DRC, changing rainfall and more extreme weather are damaging crops and food supplies. Research and local studies report shorter rainy seasons and heavier rains; experts promote irrigation, better planning and resilient seeds.
