Claim: Venus Williams forfeited a tennis match against a transgender woman. Fact: No credible reports confirm this allegation. The claim originated on social media platforms in late 2023 and resurfaced in April 2024. However, our investigation reveals it to be entirely false and based on a parody article published by the satire website Conservative Tears. […]
Claim: The NADRA is “going against” the Constitution of Pakistan and a decision by the Federal Shariat Court by resuming the registration of transgender persons’ identity cards. Fact: The NADRA is not going against either because the Constitution of Pakistan states that a ruling by the Federal Shariat Court cannot take effect until the defined […]
Claim: Instagram user @Zarishkayy says a document proves that the United Nations (UN) plans an “end of the family system” and intends to force parents to give up their children so that the “kids belong to the state” through movements such as for the rights of the transgender community. The document contains a list of […]
Claim: Instagram user @feella.artx has claimed that a March 2023 report is proof the UN has called for the decriminalisation of sexual relations between adults and minors. Fact: The claim is false. A report prepared by the ICJ, UNAIDS, and the OHCHR provides a guideline on the application of criminal laws. It includes suggestions on […]
Claim: United States President Joe Biden has allocated $500,000 to “transgender Pakistani youth English lessons”. Fact: A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) details a potential programme to be created by eligible partners for the professional development of English teachers from non-mainstream institutions, novice English teachers, transgender youth, as well as Afghan teachers, students, and young […]
Claim: Lahore Police have arrested a minor boy for “dressing up as a girl and begging”. Fact: The child has not been arrested but handed over to the Child Protection & Welfare Bureau (CP&WB). On 30 January 2023, Express News Urdu published a news story titled, “معذور والدین کی دیکھ بھال کیلیے لڑکی بن کر […]
Claim: The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has removed Rule 13-1 from The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, allowing “gender change” for transgender folks. Fact: Section 13 of The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, pertains to transgender folks’ right to assembly and has nothing to do with a gender change. […]
Claim: Social media posts claim that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018 has been rejected. Fact: The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018 — or any other transgender bill for that matter — has not been rejected either in the National Assembly of Pakistan or the Senate. One amendment was introduced in […]
Claim: A report by The Associated Press claims an amendment to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, proposed by the Government of Pakistan, will allow transgender individuals to choose their gender identity on previously-issued official documents and that hardline clerics are opposing the suggested changes. Fact: Five different amendments were put forward by senators […]
Claim: A data table shows that 28,723 people changed the gender they were assigned at birth through the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) from July 2018 to June 2021. Fact: The NADRA has categorically termed the portrayal of the data as “misinterpretation”, saying that it is “not related to gender reassignment”. A spokesperson, Faik […]
Claim: A law to legalise same-sex marriage is set to be passed in Pakistan under the guise of a transgender act as part of efforts by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which obtain funds from gay and lesbian communities abroad. The claim further adds that “educated khawajasira” do not support the proposed law and that they acknowledge […]
Claim: A private bank shut down a transgender activist’s newly-opened account, claiming that her income did not comply with Shariah laws. Fact: The incident did occur but it dates back to January 2021; some websites have picked up the story and rehashed it as a new incident. News media website Pak 92 News on 29 […]