The impact of Transgender Persons Act, 2018 on the intersex community in Pakistan

This is a comparative study of ‘the Transgender Persons Act, 2018’ of Pakistan and the United Nations Office of High Commissioner’s of Human Rights’ (UNOHCHR) recommendations in 2016. The term ‘transgender’ in the Act 2018 is an umbrella term for several gender identities including Intersex, Khunsa, Eunuch, and Hijra. This research analyses the difference in the lives of intersex people in Pakistan by effective media reporting, before and after the implementation of ‘the Transgender Persons Act, 2018’, through the discourse and semiotic analysis. The randomly selected fifty news, articles and talk shows about intersex, twenty-five from local Pakistani and twenty-five International media, broadcasted and published in print, online and on TV, between 2016-2019 in English and Urdu languages. Incidents like Alesha’s death reported in the media, after medical negligence in Pakistan due to her gender, has been discussed. In conclusion, this study sheds light and contribute to the little-recognized issue of intersex in Pakistani society, by closely examining ‘the Transgender Persons Act, 2018’, in relation to media.