Transgender community opts for collective Iftar to overcome sentiments of loneliness during Ramazan

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Mar, 2026) Cast out by families unwilling to accept their identity, many transgender individuals find the month of Ramazan a time of profound melancholy and nostalgia.

As others gather for Iftari and Sehri, they are flooded with memories of a lost past, yearning for the warmth of a family dastarkhwan that no longer welcomes them.

“As a result of relatives' estrangement driven by societal stigma against gender diversity, the month of Ramazan often evokes a powerful sense of nostalgia among transgender individuals, who recall the traditional observance of Iftari and Sehri with relatives and childhood companions from which they are now excluded,” comments Farzana, a trans rights activist.

To overcome the sentiments of gloominess and memories of time spent with relatives, many transgender individuals opt for holding collective Sehri and Iftari. This chosen family offers a sense of belonging and a shared space for healing, said Farzana in a choked voice.

For the last 39 years, I have been observing fasting without family and every year missed my relatives and friends,” Farzana added.

We are living away from family to avoid their insult in society, but our hearts are always filled with memories of the time we spent with them.

In Ramazan, this feeling of nostalgia becomes stronger and the longing to meet with parents and siblings keeps us hurting, Farzana gave vent to her inner feelings.

"The pain of exclusion is always there, but during Ramazan, it feels sharper," opined Chocolate, a young Peshawar-based transgender.

Here, when I sit on the floor with my 'khwaja sira' family, I don't feel that pain, she went on to say.

“I was only thirteen years old when I left my home, after realizing rejection by my family due to my gender and after the passage of around twenty years has not returned home,” shares Muskan, a transgender person living in Peshawar.

Belonging to the Parachinar area of Kurram District, Muskan said she only knew her parents had died a few years earlier and was totally unaware of the well-being of her siblings.

“I have accepted this life of rejection by society and family, but still the bond of kinship haunts my mind, reminding me of good old times when I was a member of my family,” says Muskan with a gloomy face.

In Ramazan, especially at the time of Iftari, I breakfast with tears in my eyes, recalling the time when my mother used to offer me different things to eat, adds Muskan while wiping off tears from her cheeks.

We are not happy with the life we are spending, but are compelled to do so because of rejection by family, she complained.

It merits a mention here that transgender people are people who were considered male at the time of birth and later come to identify as women and are rejected by family and society due to the complexity of their gender.

“The month of Ramazan is very difficult for us to spend without family”, comments Katrina while talking with APP.

“I missed a lot the loaf of bread fried by my mother for me at Sheri and the different dishes she prepared for Iftari,” Katrina added.

Katrina was worried about observance of Eid-ul-Fitar, which is also a very difficult day for the transgender community to spend in isolation.

People visit the houses of their relatives for the Eid celebration, while we, the transgender community, just embrace roommates for exchanging greetings on the religious festival, with films of memories coming to mind about the enjoyment of religious festivals we cheered during our childhood.

On Eid day, I visit the graves of my parents in Mardan, but I did not meet with siblings because of their rejection, Katrina told APP.

She said this is a plight of almost all of the members of transgender community who are living a very difficult life.

Katrina urged religious scholars to play their role in educating people about the rights of transgender individuals who are creatures of God and the complexity in their gender is natural, not optional.

Similarly, she added, government should also take measures to ensure the rights of transgender for providing them an honorable place in society.