The government of Pakistan's Punjab province, taking note of a petition by a Pakistani lawyer, has asked the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) to stop using the term "shemale" while describing people from the third gender and use the word "transgender" instead.

The provincial government's decision came on Tuesday after Ammar Younas in an email petition last month raised objection against the usage of the word "shemale" in job advertisements posted on PPSC's official website, citing the derogatory pornographic connotation associated with the word.

"Finally, the Punjab government agreed to change the disrespectful word "shemale" to "transgender" as a result of my petition. It appeared to be an oversight on the part of the Punjab government due to the lack of awareness and sensitization on such issues," Ammar told CGTN Digital.

"Upholding and respecting the dignity of every person should be our first and the most important objective as a human rights lawyer. I consider it a humble achievement that the government recognized its mistake after six years. Now, all departments of Punjab government will replace the controversial connotation in all official documents," the young lawer said.

The decision has been hailed by the transgender community and rights activist in Pakistan as a progressive intervention. Ibn Abdur Rehman, director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan congratulated Ammar for his "excellent advocacy" in the matter while prominent transgender activist Neeli Rana praised the young lawyer for supporting the community's cause through this timely petition. 

Inappropriate terminology

In his email petition dated October 12, Ammar had expressed concerns over PPSC's official use of the term "shemale", which he explained was a term used in transsexual pornography and therefore, considered disrespectful.

"Shemale (also known as she-male) is a term primarily used in sex work to describe a transgender woman with male genitalia and female secondary sex characteristics, usually including breasts from breast augmentation or use of hormones," Ammar elucidated.

"Transgender people regard the term shemale as offensive, arguing that it mocks or shows a lack of respect towards transgender individuals," he reasoned.

He explained that each member of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning) community often comes up with their own individual understanding of the words which they use to describe their identity, so these words can notoriously be fraught with tiny idiosyncratic differences in terminology that vary as much as the human population, that uses them.

Reiterating that the word "shemale" is not appropriate and that its usage on PPSC's official website and advertisements doesn't suit the reputation of the commission, Ammar urged the government agency to replace the term with words such as "non-binary" and "other" as "a simpler way to refer to the transgender community."

When he didn't hear from the commission for 10 days, Ammar sent another reminder on October 22. Two days later, the PPSC responded saying the commission has referred the matter along with his email to the Punjab government seeking their guidance and advice.

Ammar eventually received a confirmation and the official notification on Wednesday that the Punjab government has yielded to his appeal and instructed the commission to amend its usage of the term from "shemale" to "transgender".

The notification from Punjab government's Services & General Administration Department (S&GAD) addressed to the PPSC on November 20 stated: "The case has been examined in the Regulation Wing, S&GAD and it is advised that the word 'Transgender' may be used in place of word 'Shemale' in the advertisement, in pursuance of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018."

"The process took a little over a month but it is a good beginning nevertheless," Ammar quipped. 

In the forefront

It is worth noticing that Pakistan has been at the forefront of transgender rights. In 2009, the South Asian nation became one of the first countries in the world to legally recognize the third gender, after Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, then chief justice of the Supreme Court ordered in a landmark decision the Pakistan National Database and Registration Authority to issue national identity cards to members of the community showing their "distinct" gender.

Justice Chaudhry, known as the architect of a major extension of transgender rights during his term, also ruled that transgenders must receive equal protection under the law and directed federal and provincial government welfare programs to provide financial support to the community. Since then, several transgender candidates have contested in elections.

In May, Pakistan's national parliament voted for the landmark Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018, allowing the members of the community to choose their gender and to have that identity recognized on official documents "including national IDs, passports, driver's licenses and education certificates."

The bill prohibits discrimination in schools, at work, on public modes of transit and while receiving medical care.

Pakistan's 2017 census put the total population of transgender people at 10,418, with Punjab accounting for 64.4 percent of the aggregate. Activists, however, have contested the count as inaccurate and misleading saying there are more than a million transgenders in the country.

They also expressed reservations over the procedure adopted by the census teams for counting transgender people, with many complaining that the census staff did not visit their homes or refused to count them because they did not have Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs).

In June, Pakistan's chief justice Saqib Nisar called for issuing of free CNICs to members of the transgender community within a seven-day period. 

(Cover photo: Pakistani transgenders demand respect and dignity during a protest in Lahore, Pakistan, May 24, 2017. /AP Photo)