2018 Theses Master's

Evaluating the Effects of Possible Religious Incitement to Discrimination on the Human Capabilities of Khawaja siras in Pakistan

Paul, Omair

Khawaja siras across Pakistan experience inordinate economic and social exclusion, violence, and persecution due in part to widely perpetuated assumptions regarding their non-conforming gender identities and post-colonial religious and cultural mores conventionally held by much of Pakistani society. They are considered a highly disadvantaged, marginalized, and vulnerable group with limited economic and social opportunity and mobility, and ambiguous civil, political, and legal equality. This thesis will seek to interrogate and identify causal linkages that may exist between the instrumentalization of Islamic narratives to incite multifaceted forms of discrimination against khawaja siras in Pakistan and impediments to the achievement of their human capabilities. The thesis relies on qualitative data accrued through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with four khawaja sira identifying participants in Lahore, Pakistan, conducted with the aim to understand how and why they experience difference, stigma, shame, and harm. The thesis will illustrate how these experiences define the lived realities of khawaja siras in Pakistan and will demonstrate how these experiences can function as qualitative indicators representative of khawaja siras’ human capabilities. This thesis is intended to build upon existing literature and data pertaining to the social and economic exclusion that khawaja siras in Pakistan experience.