For the first time in history Pakistan to send transgenders as Khudammul Hujjaj

ISLAMABAD: For the first time in the history of Pakistan, transgenders willbe part of a team of boy scouts being sent to Saudi Arabia to serve asvolunteers during 2018 Haj pilgrimage, a media report said today.

“Efforts for sending transgender youth to Saudi Arabia to serve asKhuddamul Hujjaj (volunteers during the annual Haj) are underway,” IPCSindh Boys Scouts Commissioner Atif Amin Husain was quoted as saying by theExpress Tribune.

Blue Veins, a transgender welfare organisation, is coordinating with theIPC on the matter, the paper said.

“At least two to three transgender persons will be selected from each ofthe remaining three provinces for joining the scouting community thatleaves for Saudi Arabia every year,” Husain said.

He said recently 40 transgender youth from Sindh were administered oath onjoining the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association (PBSA) a national scoutingorganisation and one of the largest volunteer forces in the country.

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

“The recruitment process for Khuddamul Hujjaj includes physical trainingand a test.

After that, the PBSA sends a list of successful candidates to the FederalMinistry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony for a final approval,”Husain said, explaining the process.

This year the list would include names of transgender youth, he added.

Husain feels that by joining the PBSA, transgender youth would get socialacceptance, attain confidence, feel secure and move forward, the paper said.

Blue Veins Programme Coordinator Qamar Naseem said that after therecruitment of 40 transgenders in Sindh, his organisation is planningrecruitment processes in Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

“This can be a game changer and can significantly improve the socialacceptance of transgender youth in our society,” he said.

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