From Male to Female: Rani Shah's Journey

I took this interview back in 2015, when I was staying at Karachi as a bachelor. Every day I saw a transgender (Rani) roaming near the cafe I used to dine. I found Rani amusing throwing jokes on people, I used to live in Defense View just opposite of Isra University and saw Rani cracking jokes to students (especially male). Rani's character fascinated me and I was appealed to interview her.

 Recently Pakistan's Parliament has approved a law guaranteeing basic rights for transgender people in a country which sees prevalent discrimination.

 The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) act was passed by a majority in the National Assembly in Islamabad.The law bans discrimination against transgender people by employers and business owners as well as outlawing harassment in public places or at home.

 However, the transgender community in Pakistan faces endless hardships and often we read in news on daily basis that a transgender was killed in some area for nothing. Here is a fascinating story of a Karachi based transgender.

Rani Shah 26 was born as a male in a middle class family of Karachi, and was raised among girls, he educated in an English medium school. Recently Rani became a transgender and wants to share her transformation. Rani reveals interesting facts regarding her transformation. When I met Rani, her face was covered with make-up, eyes filled with mascara and had round breasts, she was dressed in green kurta and red shalwar, with green duppatta on shoulders.

 Rani told me: “As I was the only male child having five sisters, I grew up more in girly way than being a boy, rather playing with males of my neighbourhood, I used to play with dolls of my sisters, as far as I remember my sisters used to put make-up on my face, had two ponies putting rubber bands in them and dressed me in colorful frocks that are often wore by little girls, I was brought up as a girl."

She further said: “When I grew up I started to put on bras of my sisters and they started to laugh and used to ask in mocking; when I am going to have breasts, later on I came to know that couple of my sisters had imitate relations with their girl friends at college and hated boys, but it is very hard to for homosexuals to live in a conservative society like Pakistan. I always had this curiosity to know how a girl could enjoy with another girl sexually, slowly and gradually I started to use my sisters’ lotions and hair removing creams.”

Rani further claimed that at the age of 22 she completely decided to become a transgender and discussed with her sisters, who by then were all married, they all rejected this idea, “but I had already made my mind and was determined to become a transgender, and started to search information related to transgender groups, when my parents came to know about my intentions they started beating me and locked me in my bedroom and won’t let me to go outside as I would bring disrespect to the family name, my father took me to psychiatrist, who was astonished on hearing my thoughts, he examined my private parts and told my father that physically I am a complete male, but since I’ve spent most of my life in company of girls, my mind has started to accept that I too am a female,” Rani added.

Rani started to read pornographic stories on internet and she enjoyed stories of lesbians and transgender community. After a month Rani’s father again inquired of thoughts regarding transformation and was told that Rani would go for it.

“My father become furious on me and handed me to police, I was locked up for three nights in the prison, one night one of the cellmates slept next to me and started to move his hand on my chest, I was shocked and tried to protest, but he was strongly build and put his greasy hand on my mouth, he pulled down my pants and kept on playing with me, tears fell down on my cheeks, and he kept on giving me wet kisses, then left my hand and put it on his hardened tool, that was my first contact with a male organ, he turned and raped me, this continued for three nights, and from then I started to hate my father because I held him responsible for all that happened to me. “ Rani told.

 After that she met some transgender at a wedding ceremony and came in touch with them, who took him to a local wedding ceremony. It was a success until the festivity was raided by the police  and they were taken to jail and mistreated to inhumane extents in prostitution case. The news spread fast in my neighbourhood and people around him started avoiding Rani, some of the guys in neighbourhood tried to molest her, "they used to make circle of two fingers and passed the other finger through it and teased me," she said.

  "After my father's death I went to Lahore and met many transgenders who supported me and motivated to change my sex." Rani told. She said that she faced many social and religious hurdles but she didn't care as it was her life and she has every right to have her preferences and now the transgender community is her family. She doesn't visit her blood relations.