Final Year Project

Project Title

Exploring Transgender Individuals’ Subjective Experiences on Karachi’s Public Buses

Description

My thesis endeavours to fill the conceptual gap in mobility literature by highlighting the subjective experiences of the transgender (khwājā sīrā, commonly known as hījrās in a derogatory manner) community in relation to Karachi’s public transportation. Despite recently being granted legal status in Pakistan, khwājā sīrās suffer from rampant harassment, systematic exclusion, and limited access to justice, among other forms of discrimination. Drawing on primary and secondary data findings, this research points to the empirical reality of transgender lives. Using paradigms of symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, and structuralism, the thesis assesses the complex dynamics of their inclusion/exclusion from transit spaces, resulting in a differentiated mobility experience.