KARACHI: Around 40 transgender persons have been selected as the members of Pakistan Boy Scouts Association (PBSA), a national scouting organization and one of the largest volunteer forces in the country, during a ceremony held in a local hotel.
PBSA was founded in 1947 and aims to train young boys in first aid, civil defense, camping and hiking, community development projects and emergency response and holds regular camps, hikes, speech contests and other activities such as tree planting camps and peace camps.
It became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in April 1948.Today, there are more than 700,000 members in the PBSA.
The young transgenders, wearing scout scarfs, took the oath at the welcome ceremony. They were briefed about the responsibilities as PBSA members.
“Such opportunities are very rare. This will give us help us to show the community that we are normal people doing normal things and this may make them comfortable hiring us for actual jobs,” said Bindiya Rana, who is the president of the Gender Interactive Alliance in Sindh “We feel we are finally being recognized as equal citizens of Pakistan and are glad to see that the level of our acceptance is increasing,” said TransAction Alliance president Farzana Jan, addressing a ceremony in Karachi. She said that the transgender community is extremely happy to be welcomed into the scouting community. Farzana is also the only transgender person who has been selected as a scout from Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa province.
Chairman of the Petarian Human Rights Organization, Ihsan Khosa said the ceremony as a defining moment for the transgender community.
“PBSA is open to all, without distinction of origin, race or creed,” said Atif Amin Hussain, Commissioner IPC Sindh Boys Scouts.
The Sindh and Pakistan boys scout association is not a gender-specific organization, said Akhter Mir, secretary of the Sindh Boys Scout Association, told the Arab News.
“Our association is primarily aimed at youth development and motivation. Transgender people are also youth, and we don’t discriminate on the basis of gender,” he said.
Transgender persons chosen as scouts
Transgender persons chosen as scouts
Bangladesh approves new rice imports from Pakistan amid price pressures
- The deal follows Bangladesh’s resumption of direct rice trade with Pakistan earlier this year for the first time since independence in 1971
- Diplomatic ties between the two nations have improved since the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina after mass protests last year
DHAKA: Bangladesh has approved the import of 50,000 metric tons of white rice from Pakistan under a government-to-government deal as part of efforts to stabilize domestic prices, officials said on Tuesday.
The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase cleared the deal at $395 per ton, reinforcing Dhaka’s renewed trade engagement with Islamabad.
Rice prices in Bangladesh have jumped by between 15 percent and 20 percent over the past year, with medium-quality rice selling at about 80 taka ($0.66) per kilogram. Despite increased imports and the removal of duties to ease supply constraints, prices for the staple grain remain stubbornly high.
The deal follows Bangladesh’s resumption of direct rice trade with Pakistan earlier this year for the first time since independence in 1971. In February, it imported 50,000 tons of rice from Pakistan at $499 per ton under a similar agreement.
Diplomatic ties between the two South Asian nations have improved since an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took office after mass protests forced then prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to neighboring India last year.
Formerly East Pakistan, Bangladesh gained independence after a nine-month war in 1971, and relations with Pakistan have remained fraught in the decades since the conflict.
Separately, the government approved another 50,000 tons of parboiled rice through an international tender, part of a series of recent purchases aimed at cooling local prices. India’s Pattabhi Agro Foods secured the contract with the lowest bid of $355.77 per ton.
