Khwaja Sira — A Complexity Approach

The Khawaja Sira (Transgender) in Pakistan have long struggled for equal treatment under the law. This article will highlight the mental models and ideologies that fuel resistance to their struggle, and will analyze the interaction of formal and informal rules which result from this through a causal diagram.

Mental Models and Ideology

Historical lens

Military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq left in his wake a legacy of Islamic conservatism (Ziring, 1988), shaping the mental models of many Pakistanis. With an emphasis on purity and severe consequences for sins, many people adopt a worldview where a person outside the mold of a cis-gendered Sunni Muslim has been lead astray. Though the degree to which people tolerate transgender rights in Pakistan varies on a spectrum, the aggregate leans towards intolerance as reflected by the LGBTQ+ Travel Safety ranking (Fergusson & Fergusson, 2022) which ranks Pakistan 176 out of 203 countries which includes Trans-safety as part of its metrics; other rankings concur (The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. (2016, 2020); Gallup (n.d.)) and some sentiments can be garnered by the alarming increase in trans murders following the Transgender Persons Act 2018 (Baloch, 2022).

Aggregation of Mental Models

Though Islamic conservatism splits across several lines, where some people worry more about gay rights than trans rights, or others value…