Transgender marriage legalized under Islamic fatwa issued in Pakistan

A fatwa that was passed on last week in Lahore, Pakistan declares that transgender marriage is now legal under Islamic law.

The religious decree was pased by a group of 50 clerics from the Tanzeem Ittehad-i-Ummat Pakistan.

According to the fatwa, transgender people who visibly show characteristics of being male or female are allowed to marry people of the opposite sex. However, those who exhibit visible characteristics of both male and female are not allowed to marry.

"It is permissible for a transgender person with male indications on his body to marry a transgender person with female indications on her body," the decree says, according to Reuters.

The decree, which is not legally binding, also says that it is permissible for "normal men and women" marry transgender people with "clear indications on their body" without specifying such indications.

The fatwa also says that harassing transgender people is a violation of the Sharia law.

"Making noises at transgender people, making fun of them, teasing them, or thinking of them as inferior is against sharia law, because such an act amounts to objecting to one of Allah's creations, which is not correct," the fatwa states.

Transgender people are discriminated against in Pakistan. They find it hard to land jobs, and are often forced to beg or enter prostitution to survive.

Rights group Trans Action said that in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, more than 45 transgender people have been killed since 2014.

In May, a transgender activist died because the hospital staff did not know whether they should put the patient in the male ward or the female ward. The delay in treatment caused the death of 23-year-old Alisha, who suffered from gunshot wounds and was in critical condition.

Almas Bobby, an advocate of transgender rights, said that although the Sharia law allows them the right to marry, people still have misconceptions about transgender people. Unless these misconceptions are addressed, "the condition of our community will not be changed," Bobby said, according to the BBC.