Only one young intersex person from Dera Ismail Khan has obtained a Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) while other intersex persons and transgenders have not obtained CNIC yet, The Asian Mirror reported.
Senior and intersex, transgender research journalist Abul Muazzam Turabi told The Asian Mirror that, when Justice (retd) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary was Chief Justice of Pakistan, he had given the decision that all intersex (naturally not amateur transgenders) would be registered by Social Welfare Department.
“After that, the Social Welfare Department conducted a survey and in the entire Dera Ismail Khan district only 4 intersex persons were registered after medical examination out of which 3 were natural intersex while 1 had made himself by surgery,” he told *The Asian Mirror.
Mr. Turabi added that when it was demanded that the requirement of the medical board to register an intersex person should be abolished, Justice (retd) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary had himself taken the decision and abolished the condition of the medical board.
Later, when we contacted the Social Welfare Department, Superintendent Dera Ismail Khan Amjad Parvez told The Asian Mirror that 39 more people had registered themselves as intersex after the abolition of the medical board’s condition, which was not proven by the medical board.
“After that, the list which had only 4 medically registered intersex persons increased to 43 persons which include 39 amateur transgenders”, he added.
Mr. Turabi then told The Asian Mirror that recently, when Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif announced that now deserving intersex persons will also be able to benefit from the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) ex-Ehsaas Kafalat Program like deserving women, a condition for this kept.
“The condition was that only those intersex persons who would be registered in National Database and Registration Authority’s (NADRA) record i.e. would get Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) as a tan intersex person from NADRA office would be able to benefit from BISP.
In this regard, when we contacted National Database and Registration Authority NADRA office, NADRA in-charge Dera Ismail Khan Nayyar Baloch told this scribe that, out of the list of 43 intersex and transgenders made by the Social Welfare Department, even one intersex or transgender has not yet received the CNIC as an intersex from NADRA office, Dera Ismail Khan.
“However, an intersex person of Qureshi Morr, D I Khan who is an intersex person according to a medical report but not included in the list of the Social Welfare Department has obtained a CNIC as an intersex from the NADRA office Dera Ismail Khan.
He further informed us that the information about the transgenders who were registered in the social welfare list is not available with the local office because they didn’t get their CNIC from here, while according to the law, they can get CNIC from any NADRA office across the country.
“The required data can be obtained from the central office in Islamabad”, Mr. Baloch further informed.
When we contacted the NADRA office, in Islamabad in this regard, they didn’t give us any response.
It should be noted that after medical examination, only four intersexes were registered in the Social Welfare D I Khan office, out of which three are naturally intersex while the fourth had made himself by surgery.
Later, when the condition of medical examination was abolished, another thirty-nine people were registered on the list who are actually transgender and amateur dancers.
But, out of the list of 43 intersex and transgenders made by the Social Welfare Department, even one intersex or transgender has not yet received the CNIC as an intersex from the NADRA office, Dera Ismail Khan.
