An Assessment of the Social Status and Religious Practice of Khawaja Saras in Pakistani Society in the light of Islamic Teaching: Preliminary Results

Abstract

Transgender persons in Pakistan are largely known as Khwaja Saras or Hijaras in different parts of the country.The term "Khwaja Sara" refers to a range of individual behaviors that tend to deviate from the societies mainstream culture. This study argues with the social status and religious practice of Khawaja Sara living in Karachi. The nature of this study is "exploratory" in which survey method was used as the research strategy. The population of the study was Khawaja Sara in the age bracket (14-70) living in Karachi. The result of the study showed that the societal chauvinism is too strong toward their presence.