Third gender not recognized by Election Commission of Pakistan

Nayyab Ali, a transgender candidate for the National Assembly, has recently shared on X (formerly Twitter) that as per the data released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) only two genders applied for the election: males and females, whereas she has applied as a third gender ‘X’.

Per @ECP_Pakistan , only male and female candidates applied for the election. But as legally recognized third gender 'X,' we also applied. Confused about why our papers might be rejected based on our gender identity. The law acknowledges transgender persons–clarity needed! https://t.co/mCUfWLl7gp

— Nayyab Ali – نایاب علی (@nayyabalipk) December 25, 2023

Nayyab, a resident of the federal capital city of Islamabad, has applied to contest the upcoming general elections from National Assembly Constituency 47. “Confused about why our papers might be rejected based on our gender identity. The law acknowledges transgender persons–clarity needed,” she added to the previous statement.