Khwaja Sira Activism and Sexual Governance

Based on nine months of ethnographic research, this dissertation will provide a comprehensive picture of activism for khwaja sira rights in Lahore, and how activists approach barriers to sexual rights for the community. In 2009, a landmark ruling acknowledged khwaja sira identity as the third gender. Legislative wins since 2009 have provided khwaja sira communities with a cluster of rights. However, despite legal advancements and increased visibility of the community, the right to marriage and sexual rights in general remain controversial. While the subject of sexual rights remains unaddressed, legal recognition has enabled khwaja siras to carve out a space for themselves, especially in the realm of organizational activism. This dissertation highlights three main aspects of khwaja sira activism: Community-Based Organizations focused on HIV prevention, mainstreaming projects, and rights-based advocacy. Activist projects within these spaces create conflicted alliances between khwaja sira activists and the advocates and state representatives that they collaborate with. I trace community tensions to highlight how the realm of organizational activism expects khwaja siras to find legitimacy by disavowing sexuality and through adherence to a restricted understanding of gender variance. Activist initiatives aim to facilitate the integration of khwaja siras into Pakistani society and this creates pressures for khwaja siras’ to present themselves as ‘dignified’ and find inclusion by outwardly complying with dominant perceptions surrounding their community. Sexuality plays a pivotal role in khwaja sira activism, and construction of ‘dignified’ khwaja sira citizen and so I underscore rights-based advocacy to highlight legal framing of trans partnerships and why khwaja sira activists internally remain opposed protesting for the right to marriage. This research will contribute to scant literature on socio-political dynamics that inform the lives of gender and sexual minorities in Pakistan.