Health for all: a laudable initiative

As part of his government's healthcare programme for vulnerable sections of society, Prime Minister Imran Khan distributed 'Sehat Insaf Card' among members of the transgender community at a special ceremony on Monday. The facility is to cover transgender people all over the country as well as in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. This is a much-needed addition to beneficiaries of the health card. Under the programme as many as 6.8 million poor families- the number is to be raised to 15 million by the end of 2020- needing surgeries and treatment for chronic diseases have access to free of cost treatment in public hospitals and some 300 private sector hospitals. In a country where at least 40 percent people live below the poverty line, it is a hugely important facility. Its extension to the transgender community is a laudable step for the government to take.

Speaking on the occasion, the PM rightly pointed out that until recently even the existence of transgender people was not acknowledged. His government, he said, would provide them full protection in society by removing negative perceptions about them. Indeed, the transgender people have been suffering a lot due to a deep-seated societal bias against them. More often than not, they are abandoned by their families. And until a former chief justice of Pakistan Iftekhar Mohammad Chaudhry took notice of a blatant injustice, successive governments had ignored them in the issuance of national identity cards, which meant as far as the system was concerned they did not exist. As a result, they could not claim their rightful share in family inheritance, open bank accounts, seek passports or deal with issues requiring ID declaration. If that has not been bad enough, they face widespread discrimination and are treated as lesser beings. One ugly manifestation of prejudice is the unforgettable case of a transgender who was brought in critical condition to a Peshawar hospital and died there. The hospital staff had refused to attend the patient because of 'her' gender identity.

Mercifully, things are slowly beginning to change. These persons can now obtain ID cards registered under a third category, opening up employment opportunities to them in certain areas. But they still have to grapple with social prejudices. In that respect the Prime Minister's handing of health cards to transgender persons is a significant assertion of common humanity. Equally important were his comments that his government takes the responsibility of the transgender community and would give them a sense of ownership, in accordance with the founding ideals of Pakistan based on a sense of justice for all and humanitarian values. As laudable as the present initiative is, justice and fairness for this part of the population still call for a long and hard struggle.