GENDER IDENTITY, RIGHTS, AND LAW: A CRITICAL AND COMPARATIVE EXAMINATION OF PAKISTAN’S TRANSGENDER PERSONS (PROTECTION AND RIGHTS) ACT, 2018 IN LIGHT OF US LAW, INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORKS, AND ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE

Abstract

This paper provides a comprehensive critical review of Pakistan’s Transgender Persons (Protection and Rights) Act, 2018 (TPPA 2018), examining its strengths, structural weaknesses, and implementation gaps. Drawing on comparative analysis with the United States’ legal framework, particularly Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as interpreted in Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. 644 (2020), and international benchmark legislation from Argentina, Denmark, and Malta, this research evaluates Pakistan’s law in a global context. The paper further addresses the Act’s compatibility with Islamic jurisprudence, exploring the classical Fiqh treatment of khuntha (intersex) and the concept of ijtihad as a vehicle for rights-based harmonisation. Crucially, this research proposes a Family Protection Clause to address the acute problem of familial abandonment of transgender children, a lacuna in the current Act, supported by both legal reasoning and Islamic ethics. Recommended research topics and model legislative amendments are provided for scholars, policymakers, and legal practitioners.