Peshawar   -  The Al-Khidmat Foundation, a humanitarian organization in Pakistan, on Saturday arranged a luncheon and also distributed sacrificial meat among the marginalised transgender community and artists.

The objective of the initiative was to involve these apparently neglected segment of the society into religious festivity of Eid-ul-Azha by arranging a special get-together for them, said Noor-ul-Wahid Jadoon, Manager Media of the Al-Khidmat Foundation Peshawar.

Talking to media persons, Jadoon said that the ceremony was held here at the main office of Al-Khidmat Foundation on GT Road Peshawar, wherein a large number of trans persons (eunuchs) and artists from Peshawar attended the luncheon. He said being humans and beyond the gender status, they (eunuchs) too have the rights to live in the society and celebrate the religious festivals like Eid.

“This is a very welcoming initiative taken by the Al-Khidmat Foundation and has won our hearts,” commented a transgender community leader Farzana. She said the trans persons are living in a seclusion due to rejection by the society and even by their own families. Such behaviour is badly impacting the psychological health of the transgender, who are considering themselves as alien in their own society, she lamented.

The transgender community leaders suggested that the approach of Al-Khidmat Foundation should be adopted and replicated by all other humanitarian organisations for bringing the trans persons into the mainstream and helping them in coming out of the mental stress and trauma they are facing due to stigma connected with their gender and rejection by the society.