NOVEMBER 20 — Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. First established by advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith in 1999, every day on November 20, people around the world honour the memory of those whose lives have been lost to acts of violence towards transgender persons.

It is a sobering reminder of the fact that despite recent advances and progress in countries around the world in ensuring equal rights and opportunities for the transgender community, for many the right to simply exist remains the only struggle.

The Mak Nyah community, as transgender women are known in this country, have suffered discrimination, harassment and abuse. There have been numerous documented incidences of physical assault, extortion, humiliation, sexual abuse and even rape. Some have paid the ultimate price and lost their lives, simply for being who they are.

There are many who wish to either control or even brutally eradicate altogether their existence. Violence and the threat of violence are all too familiar.

Many of the perpetrators of hate crimes against transgender persons have been members of groups which consider themselves having divine mandate to enforce morals and impose virtues onto others. Some have even been members of law enforcement.

Being a transgender in this country often means that justice will probably continue to be elusive for some time to come.

The continued existence and use of Shariah laws which permit persecution based simply on what an individual wears, results in victimisation, marginalisation and discrimination of a transgender person. It makes them vulnerable to violence.

Such laws ignore the reality of life as a transgender person, and worse seek to deny their existence by making them open to arrest, detention and legal prosecution. They also encourage vigilantes to take matters into their own hands. Acts of violence are often carried out with impunity.

It is a fact that violence against transgender people is often under-reported and inadequately investigated.

The justification for continued persecution and threat of incarceration has been based on the use of unjust morality laws such as the criminalisation of cross-dressing which prohibits any male from wearing women’s attire, or posing as a woman, in any public place (e.g. Section 66 of the Negeri Sembilan Shariah Criminal Enactment 1992). There are similar laws in every state.

Because of these laws, transgender persons simply stepping out of their homes to work, buy groceries or even pray at the mosque, are vulnerable.

The continued existence of these laws violate the right of an individual to live with dignity, have freedom of movement, earn a livelihood and have equal protection under the law.

It is worrying to think that despite all this, there are no laws prohibiting discrimination against transgender people, ensuring that they are protected under the Federal Constitution.

This is injustice and it is happening in Malaysia.

The Federal Constitution exists to protect the minority against the tyranny of the majority. Transgender persons are not abstract objects, sinners or criminals. They are people like you and me who have a right to live as everyone else with equal protection under Malaysian laws.

The Constitution guarantees that all Malaysians, regardless of whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims, are afforded the same fundamental rights and protections. That a person should not and cannot be singled out or criminalised for simply being who and what they are.

Yet these are rights which are often denied to a transgender person, especially when they are Muslims.

Being Muslim does not and should not provide the state or religious authorities, with license to inflict, marginalise or inflict religious tyranny upon other Muslims. This includes people who are transgender.

The tenets of Islam have always been about justice, mercy and compassion. We must not continue to tolerate prejudiced practices and discriminatory laws which infringe upon individual liberties and promote selective persecution of communities.

No ifs, buts or caveats.

Please say a prayer for all those who have lost their lives in this struggle. We know their names and they live on in our hearts and memories. They are our loved ones, siblings, children, relatives, friends and neighbours.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.