In what has been perceived as a first-of-kind milestone, a religious school has been opened in Pakistan's capital city, where only transgender people can pray, receive Quranic lessons, and connect with other Muslim members of the trans community.
The madrasa is an important milestone for the LGBTQ community in the overwhelmingly fundamental Muslim country, where transgender people face ostracism, even though there is no official restriction on them attending religious schools or praying at mosques.https://t.co/xfkV6MZqnd
— VOA DEEWA (@voadeewa) March 22, 2021
The Islamabad-based madrasa focused on providing a spiritual safe space for transgender people in the Muslim-majority country often regarded as conservative has sparked a lot of discussions on social media platforms, as it is one of the very few Islamic institutions that have been established with the purpose of connecting transgender people with their Islamic faith.
Online, many people have shared photos of women with headcovers and traditional Pakistani outfits, as they read Quran, prayed, and gathered in the Islamic school.
A transgender Islamic school in #Pakistan breaks barriers https://t.co/nq2VKMBOez article mentions also a church that has opened for the community, but without details pic.twitter.com/PJ0nCSmGdU
— Jayson Casper (@jnjcasper) March 22, 2021
"Pakistan’s first transgender-only madrasa breaks barriers: Transgender sets up religious school, an important milestone for LGBTQ community in the Muslim-majority country." https://t.co/szK72FieTn
— Muslim Voices (@muslimvoices) March 23, 2021
In a report featuring conversations with the main teacher at the madrasa, Reuters has cited 34-years old Rani Khan, also a transgender, saying that the school is meant to make up for the different forms of injustice faced by the country's LGBTQ+ community, especially that families of transgender individuals often end up forcing them out of their homes.
Should LGBTQ+ continue to find their own spaces or blend in as equals in a triumphant diverse system? #TransRightsAreHumanRights #TheNode https://t.co/KEd3vXaHtB
— Al Bawaba Node (@_thenode) December 2, 2020
While this madrasa is the first Islamic school for transgender people in the country, Pakistan's community has been showing a more tolerant approach towards the country's LGBTQ+ community over the last few months.
Last November, it was reported that a Karachi-based Christian church has been welcoming transgender people, also trying to help them overcome the social marginalization they suffer from in Pakistan.
