Pakistan's first transgender school opens in Lahore
Pakistan's first school for transgenders opened in Lahore on Monday. Named 'The Gender Guardian', it offers a complete 12-year school education from pre-primary to matriculation to members of the transgender community. It also provides vocational training at the college level in wide-ranging subjects such as fashion designing, beauty and hair style, graphic designing, and computer and mobile repairing, reports DawnNewsTV. Here's more.
Making the transgender community self-reliant
Built by an NGO called Exploring Future Foundation, the school aims to help students find suitable jobs or set up businesses. There is no bar on the age of students wishing to enroll. Forty have already registered and would be taught by 15 faculty members, three of whom are transgenders, reports Dawn. The management plans to open two other branches in Islamabad and Karachi.
Bombing of an Indonesian transgender school inspired Gender Guardian's opening
Asif Shahzad, the school's founder, told Dawn he was inspired to impart education to transgenders and bring them to mainstream after the bombing of an Indonesian transgender school in 2016. Notably, according to sixth Population and Housing Census in 2017, Pakistan's total transgender population was 10,418, with 64.4% of them living in Punjab province.
