Khaleej Times

First school for transgende­rs opens in Lahore

I was moved after seeing the bomb blast in Indonesia in 2016 at a transgende­r school. It was the only such school in any Islamic country in the world. After that we decided to provide them education and bring them to the mainstream Asif Shahzad, Owner of

- IANS

lahore — Pakistan’s first school for the transgende­r community was launched here with its first classes begining from Monday, a media report said.

The school, ‘The Gender Guardian’, was inaugurate­d on Sunday by the NGO Exploring Future Foundation (EFF), which has attempted its first project, Dawn News reported.

“We will be providing skill-based training and curriculum to the transgende­r community that has enrolled with us,” said Moizzah Tariq, EFF Managing Director.

“Most of them have shown interest in sectors of the fashion industry including learning about cosmetics, fashion designing, embroidery, and stitching while some have also shown interest in graphic designing and culinary skills. Having gained informatio­n from them first we designed our courses for them,” added Tariq.

Asif Shahzad, the owner of the school, said there are 30 people enrolled in the school. “I was moved after seeing the bomb blast in Indonesia in 2016 at a transgende­r school.

It was the only such school in any Islamic country in the world. After that we decided to provide them education and bring them to the mainstream,” he said.

The plan is to provide a diploma course so that the students will be able to either work or set up their own businesses, and the NGO will facilitate them with both procedures.

There is no age limit for those who want to get enrolled in the school. —

 ?? Reuters ?? Marvia Malik (centre), Pakistan’s first transgende­r news anchor, chats with her colleagues at a TV channel in Lahore. —
Reuters Marvia Malik (centre), Pakistan’s first transgende­r news anchor, chats with her colleagues at a TV channel in Lahore. —

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