Pakistan’s Transgender Community Welcomes First-Ever Ride-Share Service

Pakistan’s Transgender Community Welcomes First-Ever Ride-Share Service

Lahore, Sept. 12 – Pakistan’s transgender community has launched its first exclusive ride-sharing service, SheDrives, in a groundbreaking effort to protect trans individuals from discrimination and harassment. The service, which also caters to women, aims to provide a safer and more inclusive travel option.

SheDrives, launched over the weekend in Lahore, will initially operate within the city, but expansion to other areas is possible, according to Ammaz Farooqi, the company’s CEO. “We may expand this service to other cities,” Mr. Farooqi stated.

The transgender community has embraced the initiative, hoping it will significantly reduce the harassment they often face while travelling. “This service is a big step towards ensuring safety and respect for trans individuals,” a local trans rights advocate said.

Lahore is home to an estimated 30,000 transgender individuals, and across Pakistan, the community is believed to number around 500,000, out of a population of 240 million. In a predominantly conservative Muslim society, transgender people often face social stigma, abuse, and violence. Many avoid public transportation due to frequent harassment, a challenge also shared by Pakistani women.

“A unique aspect of this service is that both the drivers and passengers will be women or transgender persons,” Mr. Farooqi explained. Pink logos on the vehicles will help passengers easily identify the ride-share cars.

Mr. Farooqi, who is not part of the trans community, remains hopeful that the service will foster inclusivity. “I have taken a small step, and I am optimistic about a more inclusive future for everyone,” he said.

SheDrives represents a significant step towards creating safer spaces for marginalised communities in Pakistan, offering a hopeful future for expanding equality

Saro Imran, who is trans, praised the launch of the ride service and suggested the government should consider loaning motorcycles and cars to transgender persons and women to help reduce harassment in general.

“Men deliberately touch us when we walk on the streets or when we travel in public transport,” she said.

Samina Khawar, 22, a university student, said she was happy with the launch of the service.

She has been offering rides to the trans community on her “pink bike” for a month now and was recently duped into giving a ride to a man pretending to be trans, which she realised within minutes of the ride.

“It was a terrible experience,” she said. “I immediately contacted the police and got him arrested.”

Punjab traffic police said it was offering special driving classes to transgender people and women wanting to learn how to drive motorbikes and other vehicles at their driving centres across the eastern Punjab province.

The centres offer trans people equal opportunity “to learn how to drive a motorcycle or a car, and they are treated respectfully,” said police spokesperson Mohammad Mubashir. Pakistan, offering a hopeful future for expanding equality.

Pakistan established a hotline in 2022 to connect trans people to police offices and the Ministry of Human Rights. A year before, authorities had opened the country’s first government school for transgender students in the central city of Multan.

The proposed law has caused controversy, with hardline clerics opposing it.

Human rights experts say a lot is still to be done to ensure recognition of trans people in society.