Pak’s transgenders at Haj to serve pilgrims

Pakistan will send transgender persons to Saudi Arabia to serve as Khuddamul Hujjaj ( servants of pilgrims) this year.

Official said the transgender persons will be part of a team of more than 150 boy scouts being sent to Saudi Arabia.

An official said: “Efforts for sending transgender youth to Saudi Arabia to serve as Khuddamul Hujjaj are being made.”

Blue Veins, a transgender welfare organisation, is coordinating with the government in this initiative.

“At least two to three transgender persons will be selected from each of the provinces for joining the scouting community that leaves for Saudi Arabia every year,” he said.

The official said recently 40 transgender youth from Sindh were administered oath on joining the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association ( PBSA) — a national scouting organisation and one of the largest volunteer forces in the country.

The transgender persons would be part of a team of more than 150 boy scouts, he said, adding that last year over a hundred boy scouts had been sent.

Blue Veins Programme Coordinator Qamar Naseem said: “After the recruitment of 40 transgender persons in Sindh, we are planning recruitment processes in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.”

He said: “This can be a game changer and can significantly improve the social acceptance of transgender youth in our society.”

He termed the recruitment step a positive initiative that would help the transgender community in improving its image at local as well as regional level.