KP Prisons Department Appoints First Transgender Warders on Pure Merit

PESHAWAR: In a historic development, Bilal alias Sobia Khan and Zohaib Ahmad have become the first transgender individuals to be appointed as warders in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Prisons Department. Both candidates secured the positions purely on merit after completing all stages of the recruitment process.

The department has published an announcement that there were three open jobs available through a special quota for transgender people. So far, there have been only two applications submitted to fill those jobs. The two candidates passed all testing requirements including physical fitness assessments, written tests and interviews.

The limited knowledge within the transgender community regarding available opportunities is believed by agency officials to have been one of the main contributing factors in the low number of applicants.

Both successful candidates were invited to participate in a ceremony to receive their appointment letters at Peshawar. Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who served as the principal guest during this event, has assured the agency that both women, Sobia Khan and Zohaib Ahmad, successfully completed all criteria required for employment consideration and excelled in all phases of the selection process. Sobia Khan is assigned to the women’s unit of the Central Jail in Peshawar.

Sobia Khan’s path to the appointment included years of hardship. The report said she had been forced to beg and dance to survive, but continued pursuing education and work opportunities. Two years ago, with support from a local NGO, she completed her matriculation and also finished a computer course.

Recalling her experience of applying for the post, Sobia Khan said: “They laughed when I filled the form, I applied anyway, because hope is a decision.”