Saturday, December 26, 2009

Transgender Collection Agents


This is an interesting concept. In a way, justice would be served.


The Transgender community could be hired by the IRS, banks and other institutions to collect past due accounts.

Picture in your mind's eye, hundreds of Transgender people descending on Wall Street to collect bail out money. Money which has never helped a single individual in the Trans community.


Think of the number of homeless and unemployed Trans people who could get meaningful work as employees of the government and other institutions who marginalized the Transgender community in the first place. 


The ironic wheel of fate comes around.


KARACHI: The transgender community in Sindh is thrilled by the recent advice given by the Supreme Court of Pakistan to the government to use the services of transvestites for the recovery of outstanding bank loans from defaulters. During a survey, some of the transvestites showed enthusiasm over the advice and said they would rush to the doors of bank defaulters in a group, and start clapping, singing and dancing in their traditional way to ask them for paying back the government loans. 
However, there were others, who presented a different point of view by pointing to the seriousness of the whole issue. Recently in the apex court, the State Bank of Pakistan submitted that a huge amount of Rs 193 billion were written off during the period 1997 through 2008, after which Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had suggested taking the help of transvestites for the recovery of loans, similar to how it happens in India. 
“If we are asked to recover loans, we will constitute special teams and right after getting the list we would rush to the houses of these defaulters with drums and other musical instruments and would sing and dance to ask them for the money,” said Shabnam, who usually stands on the main roundabout of Regal Chock. 
But, young transvestite Saniya Baloch, secretary general of the Gender Interactive Alliance, rejected Shabnam’s idea and said the recovery of loans is a tricky and difficult job for which a serious and comprehensive plan must be formed. 
“When the government, police and army could not recover the loans from the bank defaulters, then how can we do so?”
 Talking about comprehensive plans for proper execution of the proposal, she said, “Before anything else, we demand to be hired as government employees.” She was also concerned about security in such matters and added, “A team of ten to twelve transvestites must be formed with police protection, so that it could run properly.” 
She also demanded a share in the recovery beside the salaries. “In India, transvestites are recovering loans and even taxes and they get four percent of the total recovered loans as well as taxes, so we too demand for such a share,” she further added. 
However, she said it seems highly improbable that the government would accept the suggestion given by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Citing previous instances she added, “The orders given by the apex court for the registration of transgender have so far not been fulfilled by the government, therefore I am doubtful this new advice will be followed.” 
She rejected the recent announcement by the social welfare department to conduct medical examination of the transgender to ascertain the sexual category and said, “Not a single one of us would go through such medical examinations.” amar guriro

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

1 comment:

Gwen said...

Descend on Wall Street???
Hell, no!
Descend with all 5 feet on members of the Federal Executive and Legislative Branches!