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What a time to be alive, what a time to be a part of the LGBTQI community. Incase you’re wondering why, there is a news channel in Pakistan, that just hired their country’s first transgender TV newsreader and her name is Marvia Malik. After three months of intense training, Marvia (a journalism graduate) , made her debut on Friday, on Kohenoor which is a private broadcaster.
This is a huge achievement for Pakistan, and for Marvia this is just the beginning of her advocacy within the LGBTQI community. The first step has been taken, and all anyone can hope for is for this to be a steping stone for more eastern countries to break boundaries and push it’s limits and be more accepting of the LGBTQI.
We all know that the LGBTQI community faces enormous amounts of discrimination across the globe. Alot of eastern countries disregard any person who is believed to be gay or transgender, and because of this unemployment is on the rise. This forces transgender people to go into sex work, or into the massage therapy industry which often is just a front for a brothel. It also forces the LGBTQI members onto the streets, trying to make ends meet by begging and stealing.
The world is changing, and it’s absolutely amazing to be a part of the generation that gets to see the transition first hand. However we have to realise that, The first step for any transition, is acceptance. We have to realise that It’s not about being gay and finding the confidence to step out the closet. It’s not about being transgender and finding the strength to take up a journey that’s going to change your gender. It’s not about any of that. We hear “transition” and that’s what we associate it with. We go “OMG, they are pulling a Caitlyn Jenner”.
Have you ever been repulsed by the body inwhich you were born?? Have you ever wished you could go to sleep and wake up brand new??
Transition is a journey of the mind and soul. It’s about comfort and finally feeling at home with yourself and your body. It’s about choosing to put yourself first and doing what your mind, heart and soul desires. We have to accept that not everyone is born into the right body, or gender. We have to realise, our genitals dont define our gender. People like Marvia, and Caitlyn, have the same blood as us. We breathe the same oxygen, we share the same planet. And if we are to live peacefully and in true harmony, we have to find the humanity within ourselves, we have to be actual human beings. We have to walk a mile in another person’s shoes to actually understand, we have to ask ourselves how would we feel if we woke up everyday in a body that didn’t fit our soul, or how would we feel if we constantly wanted to hide from the world. We have to feel, we have to accept, we have to care, but most important we have to understand and respect.
We constantly fail to realise , it’s not about moulding ourselves to the standard or image of which society sets for us. It’s not about joining the norm and jumping on bandwagons, it’s also not about changing ourselves to fit it. It’s not about hiding our true selves out of fear of being judged and not accepted, or being abused. It’s about finding a balance within ourselves and reaching a point in our lives where we are completely comfortable with our being. Transition is about finding ourselves and going through a process of self identity and learning from it. Encouraging others along the way. Irrespective off which labels were placed upon us, or which pedigree we were born into. Transition is about being born again, being born and feeling alive in mind, body and soul. It’s coming to a point of self acceptance, where you let your courage and your strength, be that burning light that guides your way to ultimate happiness, success and transparency.