Masawat

As in the case of many comparable countries, transgender people in Pakistan face a range of personal, social, cultural, and economic issues, often exposing them to a high risk of isolation and social exclusion. Consequently, these people remain among the most marginalized populations, with high incidence of persistent poverty and poor human capital development. These vulnerabilities make them a key group for the attention of social protection policymakers in the country. Recognizing these needs Masawaat is designed with the following objectives:

1. To mainstream transgender persons, who are typically excluded from public services and programs, through providing means of livelihood, and education, health and housing services.

2. To protect transgender persons against destitution by providing support for consumption, ensuring a minimum standard of living.

3. To promote human capital accumulation in transgender persons and increase their access to productive assets and income generating activities.

4. To improve the health of transgender persons to protect them from health shocks.

Initially, Masawaat Program will pick a subset of interventions proposed in the Transgender Persons Welfare Policy on administrative efficiency grounds. Later it will be gradually expanded. Masawaat Program will be initiated with an outlay of Rs. 63.4 million, comprising unconditional cash transfers for elderly transgender persons and for transgender persons with disabilities, microfinance, awareness and advocacy campaign, and health screening and treatment.